It is common to think of women during ancient times as powerless and secluded. The stereotypical view is that Greek and Roman citizen women had little power, as they were forced inside the house, subject to their husbands’ and fathers’ whims. This journal illustrates that women in ancient society were not powerless. In Greek society, women had power through the division that existed between the public and private spheres; the private sphere was their source of power. In Roman society the spheres became less divided and women’s power became more balanced between the two spheres, with most of the power still residing in the private sphere. Current day society values women’s power in the public sphere. Women that remain in the private sphere (i.e. housewives) are considered to have less power and status. Women in ancient Greece, Rome, and current day society all hold power but the power is expressed differently based upon the venues society allows for women to exercise their power.

In Greek society men and women were segregated into separate spheres. Women had authority in the private sphere while men tended to affairs in the public sphere. Segregation of the sexes granted women power within the household. Because of this segregation, women did not have power in the public sphere, for example they had no voice in the government. However, women were able to gain power in the government through the respect that their husbands, fathers, and other male relations held for the women. Legal texts show that men were forced to determine how their actions would affect the women they live with, they needed to be aware that they represented not only themselves but their families as well. Birth, and the struggle between men and women to control birth, was also tied to the private sphere. Women’s role within the household meant the struggle for control over the womb occurred within the home. Death, another source of power for women, was an act done in the private sphere, but its repercussions were felt in the public sphere. In Alcestis and Hippolytus, women took their lives, improved their reputations, and through that reputation gained power after their death. In Greek society, women possessed power and had influence almost entirely in the private sphere.

In Roman society, women's concentration of power began to shift out of the household and into the public sphere. Newfound freedom of movement resulted in more balanced power between the two spheres. For instance, in Terence’s play, The Mother-in-Law, Roman women were integral in creating marriage ties, which could help her family gain political power. The Mother-in-Law also shows how the struggle for control over the womb became more visible as women became more visible. Philemena is raped while she is walking on the street. The rape is a clear example of subversion of the womb outside the household by an unknown male. The power of suicide shifted in Roman culture as well. Suicide remained a method of gaining attention, but it did not increase a woman’s reputation to the extent it did in Greek society. Rome is essentially a blending between ancient Greek culture and current society.

In present day society, women exercise power entirely in the public sphere rather than in the private sphere. Women have a very active role in our country’s politics, for example Madeline Albright as our Secretary of State. Birth has become a more public struggle as well. The role of modern technology places the struggle for control over the womb in the public domain. Amniocentesis, ultrasounds, birth in hospitals, and the public battle over abortion, all ensure birth is a public event. Suicide has lost its influence in the public sphere. It is acknowledged as a sign of weakness and fails to build a person’s reputation. As women’s power has expanded into the public sphere, their role in the private sphere has been devalued. Today women exercise power publicly--no longer resigned to subtle methods of power within the home.