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Gynaeceum


In Ancient Greece, the gynaeceum (Greek: γυναικεῖον gynaikeion, from Ancient Greek γυναικεία gynaikeia "part of the house reserved for the women"; literally "of or belonging to women, feminine") or the gynaeconitis (γυναικωνῖτις gynaikōnitis "women's apartments in a house") was a building or the portion of a house reserved for women, generally the innermost apartment. In other words, a women's quarters, similar to the Indian and Muslim zenana. The gynaeceum is the opposite to the andron, or male quarters.

The married woman of the household would often join the unmarried women and the female slaves at night when she did not join her husband. The women spent most of their days in this area of the house. These rooms were more remote from those reserved for the men by placing them away from the streets and public areas of the house. When visitors were entertained the women were not present, but remained in this secluded portion of the house.

A section of the imperial palace of Constantinople during the Greek Byzantine Empire reign was known as the gynaikonitis and was reserved to women. It had its own ceremonial rites and processions as well as political dynamics.

In sorting through the remaining crumbles of residential architectural complexes found in sites such as Zagora and Olynthos archeologists have been able to explore the social dynamics of Ancient Greek society as it developed into the polis or city-state. Archeologists have developed various perspectives on how architectural design was fundamentally utilized in the domination of women and the lower classes through various periods of history. The segregation of women from the public sphere through the addition of doors, limits of sight lines in between rooms, the addition of a courtyard, and even the addition of a second floor parallels the gradual evolution of the city-state. Some would argue that the presence of women in the public sphere increased at a certain point through changes to dress and the increased use of the veil or hijab in some Muslim communities. The hijab or veil is seen by some researchers as an extension of the home and functions to protect women from the view of non-kin males. The domination of women through social conventions such as enforcing the use of the veil and the creation of guardians of women, and limits to movement within and outside of the home are evident in existing historical record. Archeological record provides a limited perception of the realities of women as much of the record has been lost of the centuries.


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