is that your teacher? lol how cute. if so, yes he would probably be a great person to ask!
Have you got the Excel book for Ancient History? I don't suggest you rely on this and treat it as your God, but I can suggest that you get the basis of female/male roles from this book and then go away and get sources to support your argument (Herodotus, Kent, etc.) Usually the older primary sources are more valuable in this type of question.
I remember doing a question on the roles of females, not the roles of men, so here are some things you can think/talk about:
--> believe or not, women did have a considerable amount of freedom. They were allowed to work and they could also initiate divorce
--> There are few pieces of archaeological evidence that gives historians an insight into the daily lives and roles of women in the Persian empire.
--> Some of these include: a limestone plaque with the high relief figure of a woman in female dress was made and may be the goddess Anathia; a seal of blue chalcedony from Eretria of a Persian women with plaits and a mature figure holding flowers; and a pear shaped pendant of pink chalcedony from Cyprus depicting a Persian and his wife.
--> the royal woman played an important part in court affairs,; they surprising had a lot of power.
--> the mother of the king was the most powerful and influential female, followed by the official wife, followed by the concubines, then by an illegitimate daughters.
--> concubines were often foreigners and therefore could not gain the status of a wife in the household of the king or a noble. \
--> Cambridge Ancient History states that (but you should find the exact quote for page references) an Achaemenid king could have several wives, one of whom would be his principal queen, and numerous concubines.
--> however, wives were in fact much loved by their husband. An extract from Herodotus demonstrating the love that Darius felt for one of his wives reinforces this. “Arsames, the son of Darius – his mother was Cyrus’ daughter…Artystone, the favourite wife of Darius, who had a statue made of her in beaten gold.”
--> The official wives of the kings exerted a surprising amount of power of their husbands, the most notable of these being Atossa, who was able to influence Darius’ decision in naming his heir to the throne.
--> Royal women were also able to own land, which they were solely responsible for.
--> Fortification texts reveal that royal women travelled excessively, visiting their estates and administered their wealth individually, and at times with the help of their husbands. Both the queens of Darius and Xerxes are mentioned as travelling to Babylonia to oversee tax payments and rental collections.
--> The royal women participated in royal festivities and banquets in addition to organising their own feasts.
--> Royal women also played an active role in running temples dedicated to female deities.
--> Royal women were involved in court intrigues. This can be seen through Amestris, the wife of Xerxes' mutilation of a woman whom she suspected was sleeping with Xerxes. According to Herodotus, “Amestris sent for the soldiers of the royal bodyguard and had Masistes’ wife horribly mutilated.”
--> As observed by the historian Sancisi, the Greeks saw the amount of power that royal women could exert over the kings as a refection of the increasing decadence and softness of the Persian empire.”
(It does concentrate on royal women a lot more, but you can get the gist that while women appeared to be "used" - ie. a man could have many wives - women did have many rights)
Hope this helps! Good luck!
