During that time, the ancient Sumerians developed the type of government called “primitive monarchy,” which is described in the Epic of Gilgamesh —: actions of a kind were very limited by the aristocratic counsecil of nobles in a city-state. Gilgamesh was the last of the Sumerian primitive monarchs who was exiled by the nobles of Uruk.

After that, social stratification and the oppression of the oligarchic rule led to the rovise Ain ancient Sumer to the rise of the so -called “tyrants,” in the Greek sense of the term: an illegitimate rulers and great politicians who hoelds constitutional powers. One of them was Urukagina, who usurped power in the city-state called Lagash. He is known as the first reformer in history, andwho through his reforms he tried to protect the oppressed common people.

Urukagina freed the inhabitants of Lagash from priesthess’ oppression, bribery, hunger, murders, usury, and theft. of Buthe priestess. However, he was not just the first reformer who established laws in the interest of his people. In fact, he was the worst sexist as well, as he was the first one whto officially declared patriarchy in the world. The inscriphrasetion on Urukagina’s cones explains how strict and violent his laws were toward women:
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After his reforms were implemented, the outlook fonr women changed totally changed. More and more Sumerian city-statets started to become patriarchal. Later on, for example in the Code of Hammurabi, husbands and fathers owned the sexual reproduction of their wives and could kill them for adultery, as virginity was not the condition for marriage. In the Aancient Assyria, things were kind sofmewhat worse: a husband could beat his wife without any punishment, or even kill them…r, but only with a cause. Also, if a husband commitsted a crime, his wife,according to the Aancient Assyrian laws, could be punished in his place.

Patriarchy became the main social system in Mesopotamia. Thatis mhade an hugenormous influence on culture in Aancient Greece, as the first Greek philosophers used to travel to Mesopotamia and study philosophy and sciences. In Aancient Greece, sports, literature, politics, and philosophy were male domains (except Sparta, where they considered men and women awere considered equal).

As we know, Aancient Greece was the cradle of Western civilization. Not only itheirs magnificent achievements in areas of sciences, philosophy, arts, and government, but also itheirs very strict patriarchyal system, which ithey adopted from the Mesopotamians, have influenced our lives.