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  • Essay / Depiction of the lives of Pythagorean women in the work of Sarah Pomeroy

    Sarah B Pomeroy's work, 'Pythagorean Women' aims to provide a comprehensive study of Pythagorean and Neo-Pythagorean women - including their problems, their history social and their writings. While it is true that there are earlier writings (by other historians) that detail information about famous Pythagorean women (in their relationship to Pythagoras himself), Pomeroy's work serves to fill a gap and constitutes the first in-depth written study on the theme of social history. Pythagorean women. Her comments are unique, as she chooses to focus on the lives of women in Pythagorean society, often overlooked in historical literature in comparison to the Athenian Greeks. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The book is intended to be a learning resource accessible to the general public, including readers who may not be familiar with the story of Pythagoras. The book is conveniently organized for those who want to learn about this topic for the first time. Pomeroy begins her book with a brief chapter on the most famous Pythagorean women in history and their origins. She then addresses the subject of Pythagorean rules, expectations, and philosophies relating to women as wives, mothers, sisters, and daughters in Pythagorean society. Next, she describes the history of Neopythagorean women, presents the women's prose writings, and explains the differences in the letters of Neopythagorean women's treatises in the East and West. Finally, Pomeroy includes a chapter on Neopythagorean women as philosophers, which was written by fellow historian, Vicki Lynn Harper. As Pomeroy points out in her introduction, in order to understand the history of Pythagorean women, a distinction is made between Pythagorean women and Neo-Pythagorean women. women. Those who are qualified as “Pythagorean women” are the contemporaries of the philosopher Pythagoras, his students, his wives and his daughters. These women lived during the late Archaic and Classic periods. Those who are labeled "Neopythagorean women" are women who followed the Pythagorean women before them, both biologically and intellectually. These women were mostly Hellenistic women. In Pomeroy's writings on the origins of the Pythagoreans, she carefully notes that there is historical evidence that the two most influential women in Pythagoras's life, his mother and his wife, were both literate women. Theano of Croton, his wife, was the first female philosopher recorded in Greek history and the mother of Pythagoras, Pythias was known for writing notes on tablets about Pythagoras' apparent resurrection from the Underworld. The writings of his wife and mother emphasize the fact that Pythagoras came from a family of educated women, which may explain why Pythagoras had more respect for women in his philosophical teachings than his Greek contemporaries. According to Pomeroy, Pythagoras' philosophy placed a relatively equal standard for men and women. Even though women did not have equal rights in Greek society as a whole, Pythagoras did not treat women as foreigners or lowly animals in his teachings. In fact, Pomeroy points out that when women turned to Pythagoras and asked him to ask their husbands to get rid of their concubines, he listened to them and included this in his teachings. This was due to the fact that Pythagorashad a high regard for the nuclear family dynamic and ensured that everyone lived as harmoniously as possible in their family. He taught his students that both men and women should have the characteristics of sophrosyne (discipline, self-control, and order). Both men and women were expected to be monogamous and the only type of sexual acts considered pure were marital relations. Pomeroy delves into the intricacies of this philosophical teaching and explains that the reason (why only marital relations were considered pure) is that sexual relations were strictly encouraged for those who wanted to have legitimate children together. It further assumes that homosexual relationships and post-menopausal relationships would not be considered pure, as neither act can result in children. I agree with Pomeroy's conclusions here, and she remarkably fills in the gaps of what is not said in the Pythagorean philosophies passed down throughout history. After explaining the foundations of Pythagorean philosophy, particularly as it relates to women's roles in marriage and family, Pomeroy shifts his book to discussing the writings and philosophies of Neo-Pythagorean women. It is at this point in the book that the distinction between the generation of Pythagorean women and that of Neo-Pythagorean women becomes more important. After the original Pythagorean society died out, due to the conquest and dispersal of their regions in the late fifth century BC, the philosophy did not die. The Middle Comedy represented the Pythagoreans at this time as poor and scruffy. There are, however, Neo-Pythagorean letters, written by women of the time, which seem to oppose this centuries-old narrative. The letters contain personal details about the women's daily lives that speak to their economic affluence during this era - such as information about their slaves, their husbands spending a ton of money on women outside of their marriage, and discussions of question of whether or not to hire a nanny. Pomeroy does not see the two opposing perspectives as an inconsistency. She speculates that the Neopythagoreans might have been perceived as poor because they followed a strict diet (most were vegetarians), wore only simple clothing, and neglected to wear gold jewelry or cosmetics. I believe that her opinion as a historian on this matter constitutes an effective conclusion and that she has sufficient evidence to draw this conclusion. She does not take a leap of faith in this opinion, but rather draws on the rules of the Pythagorean lifestyle and allows both accounts to appear legitimate. In his commentary on the writings of Neopythagorean women, Pomeroy takes care to address a popular debate among his fellow historians. - whether or not women are actually the authors of the texts attributed to them. Pomeroy succeeds in undoing the misogynistic assumption that the texts were written by men and could not have been written by women. It does this in two ways. First, she writes that there is a plethora of archaeological evidence that indicates that women wrote and read regularly during the Hellenistic period. This is not only explained by the texts written by women, but also by the works of art sold to the general public at the time. This artwork included a number of illustrations of women reading, writing, and participating in musical art activities, which shows the normalization of female literacy in the middle class. Second, she argues that if the first..