The impact of Greek culture on the status and position of court women in Seleucid and Parthian era Iran

After the collapse of the Achaemenids, with the arrival of Alexander in Iran and the establishment of the Seleucid dynasty, the city-building and settlement policy of Greek immigrants in Iran was implemented by Alexander and the Seleucids in order to achieve their political goals. The presence of Greeks in Iran, of course, with the support of their own government, caused changes in various cultural aspects of Iran. It can be assumed that the role and position of women in Iranian society was also influenced by Greek culture. Considering this issue, the problem of this research is raised as follows; What effect did the spread of Greek culture have on the role and status of Iranian court women during the Seleucid and Parthian eras? The findings of this research show that women in the Greek culture of the Hellenic era had a higher position than in the pre-promotion periods. Accordingly, the spread of Greek culture in the post-Achaemenid Iranian society had a positive effect on the role and status of women. Reports in some texts of ancient historians and unearthed works from archaeological excavations in the territory of the two Seleucid and Parthian states provide the most available information about the status of women of the upper classes of the society. From the information of such sources, it can be inferred that women have a very active and prominent presence in various political and social fields during this period. Their presence in social, economic, religious or artistic activities, with the finding of figurines and seals and the effect of seals and other works in different regions and based on the data of the texts of some ancient historians, clearly shows that the role and position of women in The Parthian and Seleucid period not only did not decline, but also had many developments under the influence of Hellenism.