Sex and chilbirth in ancient greece

Orgies The Ancient Greek pagan orgiastic practices have little in common with modern orgies. The rituals would take place on certain days. They would wear head decorations made of ivy leaves during the Baccanalia. Drinking wine, playing reed pipes and singing and dancing would take place.

Childbirth and obstetrics in Classical Antiquity here meaning the ancient Greco-Roman world were studied by the physicians of ancient Greece and Rome. Their ideas and practices during this time endured in Western medicine for centuries and many themes are seen in modern women's health. Gynecology and obstetrics were originally studied and taught mainly by midwives in the ancient world, but eventually scholarly physicians of both sexes became involved as well. Obstetrics is traditionally defined as the surgical specialty dealing with the care of a woman and her offspring during pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium recovery. Gynecology involves the medical practices dealing with the health of women's reproductive organs vagina, uterus, ovaries and their breasts. Midwifery and obstetrics are distinctly different but overlap in medical practice that focuses on pregnancy and labor.

Following the fashions of the female menstrual flow and its culture throughout time is a difficult task as its importance, artifacts and documentation were until relatively recently scarcely interpreted or acknowledged. This is especially true of some of the oldest civilizations we can trace, that of the Egyptians, Romans and ancient Greeks. Within the last thirty years women's history, previously discounted or ignored, has sparked scholarly interest especially in the area of ancient Greek women's social and private lives. This information is usually obtained by analyzing the objects of the civilization that remain, mainly art works, texts and artifacts. By utilizing all of these sources this paper focuses on the dress and gender roles associated with ancient Greek women's menstrual culture through the female's various life stages: the cult of Artemis, menarche, the "illness of maidens," death, marriage, defloration, conception, giving birth and menopause.

The two great imperatives in the ancient world were to get married and to have children. There were two reasons why having a family was considered so necessary. With no medicare, senior residences, or pension plan, people throughout the ancient world relied on their adult children to look after them in old age. Perhaps the Ancient Egyptian euphemism for an eldest sonthe staff of old agesays it all.