Culture is a human creation, but does our biological existence influence how this process unfolds? Since early historical times, women have been considered not only intellectually inferior to men but also a major source of temptation and evil. Early Roman law described women as children, forever inferior to men. The "double standard" certainly involves more than biology; it is also a product of the historical domination of women by men. .
In ancient western civilizations, cultures like the Hebrews and Romans the status of women were clearly defined as inferior to men either through scripture, law or custom that is understood and obeyed by everyone in these cultures. The freedom of Hebrew women was extremely limited. Their roles were restricted to little or no authority. Rome was founded as a patriarchal society, women were the property of their fathers later their husbands. However, in early Christian culture women are held in higher regard than the previous two cultures mainly because of Jesus and Paul. Jesus teaches equality, but Paul spread his message and popularized Christianity. .
In early Hebrew history, the emphasis on details of purity law to keep the chosen people separate reduce women's roles in formal prayer because the law stressed that anyone worshipping Yahweh had to be "clean." Women, seen as sometime unclean because of menstrual blood of childbirth, were excluded from participating in the formal worship rituals (Sherman 33). Besides religious they were not granted much secular freedom as well. For example women could not appear in public venues, talk to strangers or testify in court. Overall, the status of women as Metzger observed, "They had become second-class Jews, excluded from the worship and teaching of God, with status scarcely above that of slaves" (806).
While Hebrew view women as impure, Romans saw women as properties. The Romans, as in many other civilizations treated women as subordinate to men.
