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Relationships between Men and Women and Rise of Patriarchal Society
Kyle Vesterdahl
HIS 233: World Civilizations I
November 22, 2013
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The relationships between men and women have been the basis of tribes,
societies, and civilizations since the first hunter and gatherer cultures. There was division
of labor from the beginning, with men mostly hunting and women mostly gathering.
Ancient tribes usually engaged in goddess worship, which leads historians to believe that
women played at least an equal role in most of these groups. This relative dichotomy
between men and women was continued as humans developed throughout the agricultural
revolution. However, as civilizations were created and larger cities sprouted, women's
roles were degraded almost universally. Each continuing culture had its own rules and
morals regarding behavior towards women, and their treatment lends insight into that
culture. The merger of Neolithic agricultural villages with nomadic and pastoral cultures
may have greatly influenced the process of relegating women to a social position below
that of men. When these two cultures clashed, "the men usually took over" (Reilly 2011,
35). The arrival of religions that worshipped sky gods instead of earth goddesses
coincided with this development, which robbed women of much of their spiritual
authority, as the "power of creation and of fertility is transferred from the goddess to the
god" (Reilly 2011, 38). Patriarchal culture effectively claimed most of human
civilization after the agricultural revolution, and subsequent civilizations are infused with
patriarchal values.
In early hunter and gatherer societies, life was mostly egalitarian. Of course there
are exceptions on either side of this rule, as the Inuit represent a male-dominated culture
and the Agta of the Philippines have women going out to "hunt game animals, fish in the
streams, and exchange goods with the lowland Fillipinos" (Reilly 2011, 13). One thing is
certain, there was a division of labor where "every man is primarily a hunter of animals
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and every woman is mainly a gatherer of plants" (O'Neal 2006). Sometimes, as in the
case of the San people, since "women provided most of the vegetable foods, they were
responsible for the majority of the calories that were consumed" (O'Neal 2006). This life
style was very communal and everything in the village was shared. According to
Kathleen Gough, who is quoted in Reilly, one notable thing lacking in these hunting
societies "is the kind of male possessiveness and exclusiveness regarding women that
leads to such institutions as savage punishments or deaths for female adultery, the jealous
guarding of female chastity and virginity, the denial of divorce to women, or the ban on
women's remarriage after her husbands death" (Reilly 2011, 17). Again, there are
exceptions to any norm, but hunter and gatherer societies must be considered egalitarian.
Women, however, had a monopoly on the "most magical and mysterious of human
experiences," giving life, and "the fertility goddess enshrined woman's magical labor and
her regular daily work" (Reilly 2011, 15).
As hunting and gathering societies discovered the means of agriculture, they
tended to settle into a more sedentary lifestyle required to raise crops. "Women probably
discovered how to plant rather than merely gather seeds" and since agriculture is derived
from that gathering, agriculture is considered to be woman's discovery (Mesa CC). In the
images discovered in the Neolithic farming village of Catal Huyuk, there are many
pictures associating women with "flower, grain, and plant patterns on the walls and with
other symbols of fertility" (Reilly 2011, 29). The surplus of food created by agriculture
led to the creation of specialized labor in villages, which then grew into cities. The new
"specialized forms of knowledge were no longer sharable throughout the community, but
instead became the property of special groups" and the "egalitarianism of hunter-gatherer
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bands was very difficult to maintain in these new circumstances" (Mesa CC). Another
development of early agricultural villages was the idea of private property. It could be
argued that there "may well have been a connection between the desires of fathers to
build estates that could be passed on to legitimate heirs and the rise of laws and
institutions that restricted women's rights and mobility" (Reilly 2011, 26).
Even if Neolithic agricultural villages had conditions that may have developed
into patriarchal society, the evidence from these villages strongly supports a leading role
for females. Early Japan was characterized by female Empresses and female fertility
cults, and "the earliest Chinese account of Japan describes an unmarried queen Pimiko
who was said to be a sorceress" (Reilly 2011, 32). The predominant activities in
Neolithic villages was "women's work" and "men's role was often subordinate" (Reilly
2011, 34). The combination of cultures, where women's work became the main process
for acquiring food and female fertility goddesses played a large role, must have created
conditions favorable to women, in general, holding a certain power and prestige. The
Iroquois confederation of Native Americans provides a cultural example because women
"appointed men to positions of authority", "retained the right to veto the men's decisions"
and "headed the family longhouse" (Reilly 2011, 33). Other cultural examples include
the original inhabitants of the Indian subcontinent who worshipped a "mother goddess,"
while the "Chinese word for surname is composed of two parts, meaning woman and
birth" (Reilly 2011, 30-31).
The arrival of pastoral and nomadic societies coincided with the domestication of
animals. Since this domestication of animals was typically considered men's work, men
played a predominant role in these cultures. Also, nomadic or pastoral people "moved
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around more frequently than the villagers; they had fewer permanent possessions; and
their lives were usually harder and more violent" and in these bands "it was the women
who were subordinate" Reilly 2011, (34). R.A. Giusepi wrote that the "nomadic, herding
way of life has tended to produce independent and hardy peoples, well-versed in the
military skills needed not only for their survival but also to challenge more heavily
populated agrarian societies." Throughout history there have been countless clashes
between farming based culture and pastoral culture and for the vast majority of history
the pastoral and nomadic people have had the upper hand. The surplus food and wealth
of agricultural villages and early cities may have attracted the nomads or perhaps they
were led to find new lands due to an excess of population or lack of food. In any case,
the clash between pastoral and agricultural cultures included the creation of new values
and religions, which typically left women in degraded roles.
Mentioned earlier is the fact that ancient Indians worshipped a mother goddess,
along with a horned fertility god. However, with the invasion of nomadic Aryan people,
the culture became one dominated by Aryan ideals of class and religion. The gods of the
Aryans were "chiefly connected with the sky and were predominantly male" (Reilly
2011, 31). This is a common theme in the clash between agricultural and pastoral
cultures. The nomadic cultures tend to overrun the sedentary culture and then adopt this
more advanced sedentary culture while imposing their own values and religious beliefs.
The case of Sumerian civilization is a perfect example. Sumerian civilization was
conquered time and time again by invading nomadic peoples, and the resulting religious
ideals reflect these invasions. Originally, there was "Namu, the Sumerian mother
goddess who was creator of the universe and mother of the gods in the third millennium
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B.C." who was "omitted in a list from the second millennium B.C." (Reilly 2011, 38-39)
Reilly quotes Samuel Noah, who remarked, "her (Namu) powers were transferred to her
son Enki to justify this bit of priestly piracy." The conquering pastoral peoples tended to
simply change the religion of settled cities both by transferring "the power of creation
and fertility...from the goddess to the god" and having "mother goddesses demoted to
sisters, daughters, and specific vegetation goddesses who needed the help of male gods"
(Reilly 2011, 38). Thus, the ideals of a patriarchy were imposed onto village life by the
invaders, and were set in stone by adapting the religious beliefs of a people.
Religious values were not the only thing changed by the merger between pastoral
and agricultural people. As quoted from Smitha, "The Sumerians put the domination of
men over women into law. If a husband died, the widow came under the control of her
former husband's father or brother, or if she had a grown son she was put under his
control." Women in Sumer had power only within their own families, in the civic world
they were relegated to second class status. Hammurabi's code, the most famous example
of legislature in the ancient world, treated women "as if they were simply additions to
men's property" (Reilly 2011, 35). Also involved in the dominating patriarchal ideas of
the time were the customs that "husbands exchanged daughters…property was passed on
to sons" and "a women's virginity at marriage and loyalty during marriage became
important concerns" (Reilly 2011, 35). Finally, beyond the need for religion and
legislature to represent men's domination, there was also the process of society becoming
more militaristic. With the repeated invasions and the wealth of Sumerian cities, as well
as the merger with more nomadic and violent people, men looked to other men to protect
their interests. Again quoted from Smitha, "Physically stronger than women, men could
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rule by brute force, and in societies where men were the warriors it was they who got
together and made decisions for their entire society."
The civilizations following the original ancient civilizations typically displayed
strong aspects of patriarchy. In the Greek world, the role of women can be summed up in
the quote "mistresses we keep for pleasure, concubines for daily attendance upon our
persons, and wives to bear us legitimate children and be our housekeepers" (Reilly 2011,
161). However, the philosophy of the day was more morally viable, as "the commitment
of a man and a woman to each other in the sexual union of marriage is intrinsically good
and reasonable, and is incompatible with sexual relations outside of marriage" (Houston).
The Romans, who adopted much of Greek culture, place women in charge of their
households. Also, Roman women had freedom, unlike Greek women, to socialize and
leave their homes. Reilly is quoted, on the topic of love and affairs in ancient Rome, that
"love had nothing to do with one's own wife, but everyone else's wife was fair and
exciting game" while "the smart women played the game just as eagerly as the men"
(Reilly 2011, 173). Epictetus, a Roman Greek, counseling for a more moral society,
espouses patriarchal views in his "The Enchiridion." He writes that society should value
a woman for more than her looks, and to "fix our attention on making them sensible that
they are valued for the appearance of decent, modest, and discreet behavior"(135). These
ancient civilizations, even Empires, were strongly patriarchal, and influenced European
civilization to modern times.
Finally, a look forward to medieval Europe and feudal Japan shows a continued
patriarchal culture, but in some cases, more reverence for women. Medieval Europe was
a culture that typically was dominated by males, but there were exceptions. The residents
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of southern France were in a "rural world in which women were able to inherit property
and hold fiefs of land" while also being "effective rulers of a lord's vassals, serfs, and
tenants when the lord was away" (Reilly 2011, 277). During the crusades many
noblemen and householders went away to fight, leaving the women in charge, which
proved their abilities to manage affairs. The tradition of courtly love also glorified
women, with men believing that there was a perfect unattainable lady, and that she was
"means and inspiration for knights aspiring to court" while also "service to the lady was
both method and metaphor for the knight's elevation" (Reilly 2011, 278). However, in
medieval society the notions of chivalry were often in contrast with the patriarchal
structure of society. Feudal Japan had a culture that "did not disparage sexuality" but
"rather it disparaged lack of tastes" (Reilly 2011, 292). This culture, which arose from a
Neolithic culture that included empresses and fertility rituals, was patriarchal in nature,
but had evolved a "code of polygamous sexuality without chivalry and almost without
passion" (Reilly 2011, 289). Both of these cultures showed that women could become
more than simple property, that in the European world a lady could be a life's aspiration
and a worthy cause, while in Japan courting a woman included intricate rituals and poetry
writing.
In conclusion, the relationship of men and women changed drastically after the
agricultural revolution. However, it was not the agricultural revolution that changed this
relationship as much as it was the merger of agricultural cultures with pastoral or
nomadic cultures. The surplus of food and the prosperity of agricultural villages attracted
invaders who not only brought violence, but their own pantheons of gods and their
legislative ideals. Subsequent civilizations followed the ideas laid down by these early
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cities and empires, as military might and prowess was considered necessary and violence
was typically a man's domain. Ancient Greek civilization, as advanced as it was in
philosophical ideas, legislative ideas, and engineering, was backwards when it came to
relationships. They "created a society of two types of women: the sexless wives and
virginal daughters of men of substance, and the women who were trained to satisfy men's
pleasures" (Reilly 2011, 161). Since many of the ensuing cultures of the world imitated
and took values from Greek and Roman civilization and from Chinese and Indian
civilization, the morals and values of patriarchy have since become almost universal.
However, the beginning of the patriarchal world appears to have begun with the invasions
of agricultural societies by pastoral ones, the influx of new religious beliefs, and the need
for military might or defense against others.
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Bibliography
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http://classics.mit.edu/Epictetus/epicench.html .
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Civilization," History World International, Accessed November 20, 2013.
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Houston, Larry. "Homosexuality in Ancient Greece Section 2," Homosexuality in
History, Accessed November 20, 2013.
http://www.banap.net/spip.php?article154.
Mesa Community College. "Technology Necessary for Agriculture," Lifeways, Accessed
November 20, 2013.
http://web.mesacc.edu/dept/d10/asb/lifeways/hg_ag/technology1.html.
O'Neal, Dennis. "Foraging," Patterns of Subsistence, last modified October 30, 2006.
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