Herodotus the Chauvinist

The famous Greek historian Herodotus was the 5th century BC version of a foreign correspondent. He traveled extensively, interviewed hundreds of people in many different fields, and wrote about them.

In the world Herodotus lived in, women were hardly given a second thought. In all the countries he visited, women stayed home, kept house and raised children. They never went anywhere alone. When in public, they interacted only with male relatives and other women. They stayed in the background. They had almost no legal rights. So much for Greek democracy; that only applied to men.

Then Herodotus visited Egypt. He was scandalized. Egyptian women had all the same legal rights as men, and they were the social equals of men.

Women could take jobs, own a business, and they could leave the house alone anytime they wished, thankyouverymuch. It was not at all unusual for a woman to leave for a few hours to run errands while her husband stayed home to mind the children. *gasp*

At social functions, women and men freely mingled. Herodotus found Egyptian women in these situations to be bold and forward.

At events where there was dancing, the group playing the musical instruments would as likely as not include both women and men. Women playing instruments in public, and alongside men, no less! That defied the natural order of things, as far as Herodotus was concerned. It just wasn’t done in his realm of experience!

It’s interesting to note that the ancient Egyptian civilization lasted more than 3000 years – longer than any other civilization that has ever existed.