What philosophical, religious, or cultural ideas served to legitimize the class and gender inequalities of classical civilizations?

There
were a number of ideals that contributed to class and gender inequalities in classical
civilizations. In terms of class and nationality differences, there was a systemic belief in the
majority of civilizations that they were favored by their set of gods. The proximity of a
culture to its deities enabled them to believe that they were the chosen race and that other
races were lesser because they were farther away, such as the Greeks with Olympus and Egypt with
the Nile being a major factor in the religion. They would use the idea that the gods were close
to them as a rationale for enslaving and subjugating others.

Gender
inequalities typically stemmed from physical differences between men and womenwomen were
slighter, shorter, and physically not as strong, and this was instilled into their religions as
well. The greatest godsZeus, Ra, Jupiter, and so onwere all men, and they wielded the most
strength. This reinforced ideas that women were the "weaker sex" and should
be...