Great piece, though patriarchal societies are not a Victorian invention (and I don't think you're saying that). The Mediterranean world in general was androcentric, especially Rome. There are certainly powerful women celebrated and feared in Hebrew, Greek, and Roman history and literature (e.g. Jael, Medea, Livia), but they are the exceptions. Yes, it is tempting to retroject backwards and see our current age as a model of progress while ignoring the diversity of the past and all the terrible ideas and practices that later ages introduced (like large-scale agriculture and racism).