Where is the Hebrew and pagan attitude toward women summed up?

Les explains that when Paul seems to come down hard on women in Corinthians, we must remember the circumstances in Corinth, a pagan city closer to the Orient. He says the Hebrew and pagan attitude toward women is probably epitomized in two little quotes. First, Sophocles, a Greek philosopher before Paul's time, said, "silence confers grace upon a woman," meaning the best thing a woman can do is be quiet. Second, from the Talmud, the book of Jewish writings and commentary, it lists several plagues that could be laid upon the Jewish people, and one of them is: "The talkative widow and the virgin who wastes her time in prayers are one of the plagues of Israel." Les emphasizes he is not promoting this, but showing the attitude prevalent when Paul was writing.