Women in the Ancient World
Driving Question: How did the roles of women differ in ancient Rome and Han China?
The Roman Empire and Han China might have been separated by a continent and thousands of miles, but they still shared several characteristics in common. In this lesson, you’ll examine the roles and rights of women in each society.
Learning Objectives:
- Explain and compare the roles of women in classical societies such as ancient Rome and Han Dynasty China.
- Use a graphic biography to support, extend, or challenge the overarching narratives from this period.
- Use close-reading skills to analyze the roles of women in classical societies.
Vocab Terms:
- dowry
- patrician
- submissive
- triumvir
This lesson is all about comparison. Refresh your memory of how we approach this skill by checking out the OER Project comparison one-pager.
Comparing the lives of women in Han China and Rome can help reveal commonalities and differences in the values of these two societies. In this activity, you’ll read several statements and guess which society they applied to.
Organizing students into groups and assign roles, such as vocabulary master, claim cruncher, evidence gatherer, content connector. While they’re reading, each student writes down and looks for the specific thing they’re assigned. When they’ve finished, students meet in their homogenous groups and share, and then meet with their heterogenous groups and discuss the reading.
Women’s struggle for equality has been ongoing for millennia. Whether in ancient China or ancient Rome, women pushed or ignored boundaries set by men.
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Guiding Questions
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Before you read
Preview the questions below, and then skim the article. Be sure to look at the section headings and any images.
While you read
Look for answers to these questions:
- Why is it difficult to find evidence about the lives of women in Rome and Han Dynasty China?
- What is one similarity and one difference between women in Rome and Han Dynasty China in terms of economic opportunities and challenges?
- How did Confucian law limit women’s roles in Han Dynasty China? Use evidence from the primary sources in the article to support your answer.
- How could Roman women exercise political power? Use evidence from the primary sources in the article to support your answer.
- What types of cultural roles did women have in Rome and Han Dynasty China?
After you read
Respond to these questions:
- Do you agree with the author’s comment about how some women may have been more powerful than male authors liked to admit? Explain your reasoning.
- If you were a woman living during this period, do you think you would be more comfortable in Rome or in Han China? Explain your reasoning.
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Guiding Questions
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Before you watch
Preview the questions below, and then review the transcript.
While you watch
Look for answers to these questions:
- What were the arguments that Hortensia used against the triumvirate’s taxes?
- What was it specifically about this war that made Hortensia unwilling to pay for it?
- How is this speech evidence of how Roman women’s role in politics compared with other societies?
- How does Ban Zhao’s writing differ from Hortensia’s speech?
- How does Ban Zhao’s writing challenge the arguments that Ban Zhao herself was making?
After you watch
Respond to these questions: Do you think these two sources are sufficient to evaluate the role of women in these two societies? What other type of evidence would you want to see?
Key Ideas
Students haven’t encountered graphic biographies since the first unit of the course. You—and your students—might need a refresher on how these graphic histories work. Check out OER Project’s Graphic Biographies Guide for tips on three-step reading for graphic biographies.
What was life like for women living in ancient empires? Zoom in and compare the lives of three women to see how they pushed or ignored boundaries set by men.
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Guiding Questions
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Before you read
Skim the full comic, paying attention to things like prominent colors, shapes, and types of text and fonts. How do you know where to start and in which direction to read? What’s in the gutters (the space between panels)? Who is the focus of the comic? What big questions do you have?
While you read
Look for answers to these questions:
- Where and when did Ban Zhao live?
- What were the five enduring virtues of Confucian philosophy?
- What was Ban Zhao’s profession and what did she write about?
- What do the quotes in the graphic biography tell you about how Ban Zhao viewed Confucian hierarchies?
- How does the artist use art and design to demonstrate Ban Zhao’s life and accomplishments?
After you read
Respond to this question: Do you think Ban Zhao’s writings reinforced gender hierarchies or pushed back against them? Explain your reasoning.
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Guiding Questions
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Before you read
Preview the questions below, and then skim the comic, paying attention to things like prominent colors, shapes, and types of text and fonts. How do you know where to start and in which direction to read? What’s in the gutters (the space between panels)? Who or what is the focus of the comic?
While you read
Look for answers to these questions:
- Where was Babatha born, and who ruled this region for most of her life?
- Babatha was in court a lot. What was she fighting for?
- What kind of law did Babatha use to support her arguments, and how did she later change her strategy?
- To what degree was Babatha successful?
- How does the artist use art and design to distinguish between Roman law and Jewish law in the balloons in the center panel of the page?
After you read
Respond to this question: The Ban Zhao graphic biography uses quotes from her writings to help tell her story, but the only sources that survive about Babatha’s life are legal documents. How do you think Babatha’s story might be different if there were other sources?
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Guiding Questions
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Before you read
Skim the full comic, paying attention to things like prominent colors, shapes, and types of text and fonts. How do you know where to start and in which direction to read? What’s in the gutters (the space between panels)? Who is the focus of the comic? What big questions do you have?
While you read
Look for answers to these questions:
- Where and when did Hypatia live?
- What did Hypatia teach and design?
- Why was Hypatia targeted by Christians?
- What do the quotes in the graphic biography tell you about Hypatia’s life?
- How does the artist use art and design to demonstrate Hypatia’s status and accomplishments?
After you read
Respond to this question: The Ban Zhao graphic biography uses quotes from her writings to help tell her story. Hypatia’s story all comes from quotes from men who knew her. How do you think Hypatia’s story might be different if her writings had survived?
Use this informal writing opportunity to reflect on the similarities and differences among ancient empires and belief systems.
