Women held few civil rights in ancient civilizations and were treated with injustice in all levels of society.

Though womens rights were limited, every empire had some flexibility: the Mesopotamian, Greek, Hellenistic, Roman, and Christian societies possessed many differences and similarities regarding womens rights and freedoms. This paper will compare and contrast womens various rights in these societies and the similarities they share, how women were treated and were viewed in these different cultures, and why Mesopotamian society was best for women during that time. Each civilization had a different set of rules and similarities in them for women. Mesopotamian societies possessed the greatest freedom for women. They had the right to divorce unfaithful men based on the rules of marriage and the family law (Hammurabi). When the women of Mesopotamia married, they received a bride price: an amount of money paid by the groom to the brides family. This law provided women with an important right that the other civilizations did not have: the wife, in the time of a divorce, received all of her possessions, including the bride price. This granted many women enough support to lead independent and sufficient lives. Rome also had many laws protecting womens rights, including property ownership. But unlike Mesopotamia, Roman society placed more restrictions on womens rights, and unfairly taxed their properties, and the Roman government had the right to accuse them of wrongdoing. Compared to the Greek, Christian and Hellenistic societies, Mesopotamia and Rome possessed the greatest freedoms for women because of the above mentioned laws, although in both societies those laws only applied to a certain class: free born women, not women born into servitude. Like the marriage law of Mesopotamia, Hellenistic society provided a marriage contract for women, in which both the husband and wife had equal rights. But, unlike Mesopotamia, this contract only applied to nobles and the upper class. Greek and Christian societies were the most harsh and dissimilar to the

other societies: women had no rights or freedoms at all and were completely ignored by men. Generally, a common view all of these societies shared was that no woman was allowed to cast a vote, no matter their class or other rights they possessed. Also, women were generally viewed as lower than men in every way. Even though these societies have some differences, they also share many similarities. Although women possessed some rights in the Mesopotamian, Greek, Hellenistic, Roman, and Christian societies, generally women were treated with disrespect, unjust force and viewed as objects and with extreme negativity. For example, in Greek society, women were hatefully judged and discriminated against, especially if they were peasants. It was no different in other civilizations: Christians condemned any wrongdoing and greatly distrusted women. Women were also subject to cruel punishment for most crimes in Christian societies, although men only received cruel punishment for the worst of crimes. For instance, Mary the Harlot was taken advantage of, and fearing what the harsh laws of Christian society might bring upon her, she fled her city. Instead of the man being punished for his crime, she felt like it was her fault and her mistake because of how people in Christian societies perceived women. Mary was cruelly placed in an isolated cell that was supposed to save her from her sins. But this conveys the ruthless reality of the laws of Christian society that were specifically against women. Hellenistics forced themselves to only grant a few noble women little rights and still viewed them as a lower class. It was a good era for the few elite women lucky enough to obtain the rights of the marriage contract but women of any other class, especially peasants, were completely disregarded and treated horribly. Even in Roman and Mesopotamian societies where women possessed the greatest number of rights, they were still disregarded and treated with prejudice: the men made almost all decisions, and what they said was the final word and invalidated the womans words. In these

ancient civilizations, it was very common to view women as subhuman, and generally society ignored and disregarded them. From all aspects, Mesopotamia was the best society for women to live in during that time, of course only if they were free born women. They equally enjoyed many rights and freedoms as men did. They had the right to divorce with compensations made so she can support herself, the right to own property, and various laws that protected their justice. Women were by far given the most rights and freedoms when compared to other civilizations. The marriage and family laws were extensive, and protected women from unfair treatment by their husbands, and provided support and compensation for a divorce; divorces were could also be made by the wife if she had an unfaithful husband or was unhappy with him. Women also had the right to own property as men did-something that had not been seen in other civilizations. Mesopotamia also had a system to protect women from losing their property as well. Mesopotamia possessed the greatest number of rights and freedoms for women, and was the best choice for a somewhat content life for women during that time. Women in the Mesopotamian, Greek, Hellenistic, Roman, and Christian societies suffered through a great deal of hardships, and they possessed little rights and freedoms, and even with those freedoms, no woman was content with her life in any way. Though they had many differences, they all shared the general view that women were expected to follow mens orders and were much lower than them. Unfortunately, we still see this appalling treatment of women today, especially in third world countries. Disappointingly, in modern times, there are governments that do not have laws that protect women, and still perceive women as sexual objects and for producing babies. Even in the 21st century, with the advancement of democracy, technology, and knowledge, women still do not possess equal rights.

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