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| Mandana - Medean Princess, Mother of Cyrus the Great (courtesy Persepolis.nu) |
The Roles of Women
When a girl was born the father rejoiced and the mother lamented. In the wealthy family a girl meant a future bartered union. An opportunity to merge fortunes among merchants. Landowners. Royals. For that very reason a mother mourned quietly and sufficiently and most of all immediately.
The father rejoiced in the potential unions planning a future for each female delicately and decidedly. As the girl grew into a young woman and the measure of her beauty was known the better measure the father had for future contracts.
As for the young girl. Her early life was pleasant and gentle. Even in the lower households of minor landowners the young girls were treated to pretty gowns. Delicious foods. And the ever doting attention of all of the older females. The mother and sisters of her mother were fastidious caretakers and wayshowers. Training the young ones in the care of the household. The importance in the preparation of foods. Learning how to weave wreaths and garlands for festive events. These older women followed the paths of those before them. For their time in her place may be long gone but each one reveled in caring for and training the little ones.
When a young girl presented on the eve of womanhood. She was taken into seclusion for a short time. Here she was given the wardrobe of a woman. She was told of her upcoming betrothal that had been planned since the day of her birth. She was given moments to lament the end of her childhood and sturdy herself for her very different future. She was loved. She was sheltered. She was prepared.
For most young women, the first glimpse of a new husband was on the day of the union. It was rare that a woman would meet her betrothed before that. Childhood playmates were rarely given in union. It was the expansion of fortunes outside of the home and town that a father desired for his daughters and his coffers.
In full womanhood and the union with a man it was expected that children would flow within the season. When this did not occur a man could take another wife within the next season. The birth of sons and daughters was expected to continue the great Persian lines.
Persian women were fertile. Healthy. Well tended. The many children born gave her status and purpose. It was extremely rare that a woman did not produce an heir. In the event of years passing without a first born a woman was relegated to leisure and to business. Given purpose. Trained in the way of merchants. Always respected as a wife. Yet no longer expected to produce an heir. In that rare instance of anger and jealousy, a barren woman was sent away to the seclusion yet comfort of a farmstead far away.
On occasion a woman was permitted to join in the ranks of soldiers. There were some who were built for this endeavor and this was not ignored. It was not a preferred role for a woman yet it was tolerated and supported.
When a young woman was widowed in youth she was taken into another familiar family. When an older woman was widowed she was invited into the homes of her daughters. There she spent time in the preparation of foods and the rearing of children. Always given a purpose.
Persian women were and remain beautiful. Brilliant. Revered. And treasured always.
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