Ancient India Ancient Greece

Law of Manu
The Law of Manu is a set of behavioral norms In Athens in the fifth century B.C.E., a woman’s
supposedly prescribed by India’s mythical place was in the home. She had two major
founding ruler, Manu. The treatise was probably responsibilities: the bearing and raising of children
written in the first or second century B.C.E. and the management of the household. In this
dialogue on estate management, Xenophon relates
The Law of Manu the advice of an Attican gentleman on how to train
a wife.
Women must be honored and adorned by their
father, brothers, husbands, and brother-in-law who Xenophon, Oeconomicus
desire great good fortune.
Where women, verily, are honored, there the gods (addressing his wife)…Nevertheless, those who mean
rejoice, to win stores to fill the covered place, have need of
where, however they are not honored, there all someone to work at the open-air occupations; since
sacred rites prove fruitless. plowing, sowing, planting, and grazing are all such
Where the female relations live in grief---that family open-air employments; and these supply the needful
soon perishes completely; where, however, they do food. . . .
not suffer from any grievance---that family always For he made the man’s body and mind more capable
prospers. . . . of enduring cold and heat, and journeys and
The father who does not give away his daughter in campaigns; and therefore imposed on him the outdoor
marriage at the proper time is censurable; censurable tasks.
is the husband who does not approach his wife in To the woman, since he has made her body less
due season; and after the husband is dead, the son, capable of such endurance, I take it that God has
verily is censurable, who does not protect his assigned the indoor tasks.
mother. And knowing that he had created in the woman and
Even against the slightest provocations should had imposed on her the nourishment of the infants, he
women be particularly guarded; for unguarded they meted out to her a larger portion of affection for
would bring grief to both the families. newborn babes
Regarding this as the highest dharma of all four than to the man. . . . Now since we know, dear, what
classes, husbands though weak, must strive to duties have been assigned to each of us by God, we
protect their wives. must endeavor, each of us, to do the duties allotted to
His own offspring, character, family, self, and us as well as possible. . . .
dharma does one protect when he protects his wife Your duty will be to remain indoors and send out
scrupulously. . . those servants whose work is outside, and superintend
The husband should engage his wife in the those who are to work indoors, and to receive the
collections and expenditure of his wealth, in incomings, and distribute so much of them as must be
cleanliness, in dharma, in cooking food for the spent, and watch over so much as is to be kept in
family, and in looking after the necessities of the store, and take care that the sum laid by for a year be
household. . . . not spent in a month.
Women destined to bear children, enjoying great And when wool is brought to you, you must see that
good fortune, deserving of worship, the resplendent cloaks are made for those that want them. You must
lights of homes on the one hand and divinities of see too that the dry corn is in good condition for
good luck who reside in the houses on the other--- making food.
between these there is no difference whatsoever. One of th duties that fall to you, however, will perhaps
seem rather thankless: you will have to see that any
servant who is ill is cared for.

History Classwork 31.10.2022.

Name:__________________________________________________
 Read the instructions carefully, you dont ned to answer all the given questions, but some,
and fill in the table

Origin: Is the source primary or secondary? Who is the author? When was it created?
When it was published?
Purpose: This is the point where you start the real evaluation of the piece and try to
figure out the purpose for its creation. You must be able to think as the author of the
document. Why does this document exist?Why did the author create this piece of work?
What is the intent? Who is the intended audience? Who was the author thinking would
receive this?
Value:Based on who wrote it, when/where it came from and why it was created…what
value does this document have as a piece of evidence? What was going on in history at
the time the piece was created and how does this piece accurately reflect it?
Limitation:The task here is to say: at what point does this source cease to be of value to
us as historians?
What part of the story can we NOT tell from this document?How could we verify the
content of the piece? Does this piece inaccurately reflect anything about the time period?
Origin: Origin:
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Value: Limitation:
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What are the similarities between these two documents relating position of women?
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