Woman and man in the ancient world: comments on old disputes and new expectations

Abstract

The article has a purpose to draw attention to discussions which have started in the seventies of the last century. These discussions have led to creating two ways of writing about women’s role in the ancient world: American and French. In the first model, “women history” is treated as an autonomic research discipline. Strong relationships with cultural anthropology and research concentrated on relationships between women and men are characteristic for the second model. Utilising gender theory in research about women’s roles in the graeco-roman world allowed highlighting new areas (outside the private sphere) in which women were active.