Social Classes and Gender Relations in the Classical

World

Class Structures

Grew more complex during this time period

Low social mobility Social status

generally inherited

Political Elites (rulers and their advisors)

Aristocracies (families of high birth who helped run government and whose wealth was based on land

ownership)

Religious Elites

Merchants, Traders

Artisans, Craftspeople

Unskilled labor, Servants, Cultivators

Agricultural society with typical features of

huge gap between landed gentry and the peasants, esp. in terms of access to culture and language

In general, social status was inherited Tight family organization helped economic and

social views of political life

China

China

Scholar-Gentry Status based on control of land and

bureaucratic positions in the gov. Often inherited

Ordinary Citizens Peasants, some had land and some

worked for landlords All peasants had to work a

designated number of days per year on public projects

Underclass Merchants, traders Non-Han Chinese on borderlands Slaves (although not as many asRome)- Artisans

Scholar- Gentry

Ordinary, but free, citizens

Underclass

India

Caste system Varna- Sanskrit word for

color and used by Aryans to distinguish classes

By 1000 BCE 4 major classes (see right)

600 BCE – 600 CE caste system becomes more complex and each caste divided into jati (birth groups) and there is no movement between classes

Family life also emphasized the them of hierarchy and tight organization

Brahmins – priests and scholars

Kshatriya – Warriors and Gov. officials

Vaishya – Landowners,

Merchants, Artisans

Shudra – peasants, laborers

Greece

Sparta Citizens vs. non-

citizens Beyond that

everyone was pretty equal (wore simple clothing to show this)

Distinctions based on military prowess and athleticism

Athens Also distinguished between

citizens and non-citizens However, Athenians okay

with luxury so clear urban-based aristocracy developed

Farmers lived outside the city Reforms led to spread of

democracy to all free male citizens but deepened division between free men and slaves

30% of population enslaved

Aristocrats controlled land that was worked on

by tenant farmers Elite = Patricians and Commoners= Plebians Patron-Client relationship

Patrons were wealthy people Clients served them in return for protection

Rome

Patriarchial systems dominated all classical

civilizations where men were seen as protectors of women

These systems were accepted and legitimized by religious and cultural thought

You need to look at the legal rights of women to determine how much freedom they actually had

Gender Relations

Families run by older men and male children

favored All women legally subordinate to men Supported by Confucian values Political positions for men Marriages arranged according to family ties Some women in elite families were educated in

the arts, writing, and music Peasant women were cooks and house cleaners

for men

Gender in China

Dominance of husbands and fathers Arranged marriages Lawbook of Manu – 1st Century BCE

“women must never be independent” “When women are honored the gods are

pleased” Women, however, were celebrated in stories

and theory was much harsher than practice

Gender in India

Spartan women free and equal with men and

encouraged to be physically fit. Women also didn’t live with their husbands and often ran the city.

Athenian women had much less equality Elite women confined to the home Peasant women had more freedom because of farm

chores Women did have citizenship (which could be passed

on to sons) No political rights, or rights to own property or

business

Women in the Mediterranean