Life In Sparta

Sparta was a very unique society which could be defined as Utopian Militaristic State. Spartan boys all were devoted their entire lives from an early age to the Spartan army. This heavily militarist society was also unique in terms of women's position in society. They had much more rights and freedoms than other Greek women, but in terms of family life they were not so lucky. Women were living separately from spouse during their whole lives. Their husbands were only coming to home at night, they were secretly removed after a short time. And also they were separated from their sons for military training. Women had to be strong in family and social life. Spartan lawgivers wanted girls to receive a good education in order to prepare them to their womanhood duties.

In no other city-state did women enjoy the same freedom and status as Spartan women. As a military-driven society, the Spartans realized that “regardless of gender all Spartiates had an obligation to serve the militaristic end of Sparta.” With this focus in mind, women were allowed more freedom, rights, and independence. Spartan women were

The government in Sparta followed a very different coarse than that of the Athenians. It was controlled by an oligarchy in which the power was held by a group of five men called ephors. Working below the ephors was the Council of Elders and an Assembly. Male citizens over age sixty could serve on the Council while anyone, male or female, over the age of twenty could be a member of the Assembly. Though the citizens had little say in the decisions made by the government, the system worked effectively. Over the years, the Spartan's brutal reputation in war grew so great that other nations and city-states were too frightened to attack Sparta even though the Spartan army was no larger then eight thousand men. The Spartan Constitution called for all men to begin their military education at the age of seven, where they were trained to be tough and self-sufficient. Every man in the army fought with a great deal of passion for his country. Life in Sparta may have been rough, but the rest of the Greeks envied the Spartans for their simplicity, straight forwardness, and fanatical dedication. The beliefs of Sparta were oriented around the state. The individual lived and died for the state. The combination of this philosophy, the education of Spartan males, and the discipline of their army gave the Spartans the stability needed to survive in Ancient Greece.

This tradition allowed for a city-state with an exceptional army, women with a substantial amount of liberties, and a gene pool that was superior to those around it. The Spartan way of life was one that focused itself on the importance of a physically strong society, and the people of this city-state went to great lengths to ensure that they maintained this tradition. As a result of this mentality, the authoritative figures of Sparta gave women more freedoms, as society did not see them as inadequate versions of men, but more as the mothers of society, whose job was to be the backbone of the strong Spartan army by birthing and raising robust young men. In fact, this lifestyle was so prevalent and noticeable that soldiers and writers from Athens and other outside lands took notice. Many documents from almost all areas around the Mediterranean Sea demonstrate this, especially in Xenophon’s “The Constitution of Sparta”, which describes the importance of physical ability in Sparta, as written by an Athenian soldier. The people of Sparta preserved this physical superiority in many ways. Boys moved into barracks at the young age of seven to train and become a part of the renowned Spartan army, and mothers abandoned babies with medical issues as soon as possible. This not only ensured that all citizens were able-bodied and working to improve the city-state at all times, but improved the gene pool of the civilization by eliminating any possible genetic disorders with visible phenotypes within the society. All these factors contributed to the health, wellness, and overall success of the Spartan

When comparing power levels and women’s rights, Sparta was a leader in its time. Athens and Sparta, though both Greek city-states were different in the way they operated. More specifically, Sparta was different in the way that they treated their women. Athenian woman were treated quite appallingly compared to the standards of today’s women. The stem of this difference seems to lie in how these two city-states were governed. Sparta, known for its’ militaristic ways, was an oligarchy and Athens, known for its’ philosophers and thinkers, was a democracy. Sparta’s oligarchy was ruled by a counsel of 5 men, on being a lawmaker or giver. The lawgiver’s name was Lycurgus. Lycurgus was

The progressing city-state of Sparta was infamous for many things. Sparta was known for its powerful army, strict guidelines, and eccentric values. Due to these unique characteristics, residents of Sparta had to keep up to continue its legacy. Being a resident of Sparta meant taking numerous risks yet for reasonable causes. These risks were taken for the progression of the city state. Risks included krypteia mindlessly killing Helots to prevent them from rebelling. Despite this lack of respect for human life, Sparta had atoned for this by providing relevant teachings for women and lessons on survival. Sparta, being a city state with a small population , was primarily focused on winning battles. Thus they perpetrated many feats that were meant to benefit this major cause. Although there was a lack of respect for human life in Sparta, the strengths of a Spartan education are clearly greater than its weaknesses because of the education provided for women and teachings on survival.

But in the Spartan society, the woman had a dignified position just because they were the mother of the famous Sparta worriers. The Athenian women were also not allowed for education or to educate themselves. Men were the only ones allowed in the schools. They also wore clothing that completely covered their bodies and was not able to walk where they

During the early era of the Golden age and late of Classical age of Ancient Greece, from the years 520-321 BC womens roles were significantly different between the two mainly Greek city state Athens and Sparta. These roles that the women presented had huge differences in a way women were portrayed in their societies. Both cities were very different in many ways, the females were raised very differently, and had different duties they had to perform. For example if you commit adultery by Spartan women it was considered tolerated and encourage in their society on the other hand adultery in Athenian women was not even considered and substantially have very few consequences. Unlike the Spartan women Athenian women were treated as unimportant citizens in a lot of ways. They were classified into three different classes. The lowest class which were considered as slaves, the citizen class, and the Hetaerae which were considered as prostitutes, but they were allowed to have education and go to marketplaces, and have rights. With Spartan women they were taught to read and write, also were expected to protect themselves and the children since men were barely around. They were definitely different from other Greek cities and were mainly raised to act as warriors because of the responsibility of owning and protecting their homes. These womens had three considerable lifestyle differences how they were raised , How were their marriages, and what responsibilities they had. These will serve

The treatment between women in Athens and women in Sparta was the difference between night and day. Women were treated completely different in Athens compared to Sparta. Neither of the society’s women were seen as overpowered or superior to men, but in one culture, women live a better life than the other. Women from Spartan civilizations were treated equal to men during their youth. Women from Sparta ran the civilizations due to the fact of the men serving in the military from the age of seven to the age of sixty-five.

Spartan society was dominated. They believed that Military power was the way to provide security and protection for their city. Unhealthy baby boys were left to die. Healthy baby boys were raised to be soldier. Boys and Men in Sparta trained to be Soldiers from birth, they also remained in the army until the age of 60. Girls and women in Sparta had more rights than other Greek women. Sparta was ruled by 2 kings who led the army. They have more slaves than citizens helots grew crops and did other jobs. Boys and Men in Athens worked to improve body and mind. They had physical training but not trash and learning to read, write, sing play instrument. Girl and women in Athens received no education, taught, household task and had very few rights, but after the Persian War ended many City-States formed alliance called the Delian League which protected the Aegean Sea. Alliance’s are agreements to work together. Southern cities created the Peloponnesian League. Sparta declared war on Athens and threatened to tear all of Greece apart, which lead to Spartans invading Athens, surrounded the city and burning crops. Athens used their navy to keep their food steady, but Athens attacked Spartan cities. They fought for 10 years nobody won so they called a truce but Sparta attacked Athens now that they are weak, Sparta won and was in control. Sparta becomes the most

The army would lien up together and form a square, and since the shields are very long, it is almost impossible to strike a blow on a soldier. Others may argue that Athens is a better city to live in because family ties were stronger. Women were legally dependent on their husband or father, and owned no property apart from the family. However, in Sparta, women were free and they could own their own property, and had much more rights than women in

There was no option to become a carpenter or philosopher, city-state’s entire focus was built on producing the greatest military in Greece. Life was judged from birth because the Spartans practiced infanticide, casting any baby boys and girls off the top off a mountain that displayed and defects or weakness, something that was not done in Athens. Parents didn’t hold the right to intervene for the decision was made by the state. Girls received a physical education, they were raised to be fit child bearers who would produce many more soldiers, and that was the purpose of their existence. They were far more outspoken and opinionated in contrast the the women of Athena.

They have the strongest warriors ever created, the absolute best strategies for attack, one of the “greatest armies in recent knowledge”(Cartledge To Die For?), and they were trained from age seven until eighteen. The Spartans had a strict code of training and loyalty to the army that was taken too full extremity even if it meant their death. The code was that no Spartan should ever back down from a fight. This was so serious that if a son broke the code and came home with wounds in his back his own hoher would try to kill him. The mothers would eventually say “Come home carrying your shield or on it”(Fox 67) meaning fight until there is nothing left to be done. The Spartans took this seriously, the famous story of the three hundred spartans shows their loyalty. They were loyal Spartans who fought about seven thousand men to their death at the Battle of Thermopylae and set a statement for all of Greece to fight back against Persia. The military was the center of the Spartan state and it was once said that one Spartan was worth several men trained elsewhere. This shows proof of them deserving the name of Spartans, which means “fearlessness, harsh, cruel life, endurance and

The ancient Greeks made city states that functioned as their society. These were small, usually consisting of a population of around eight to ten thousand people. Some of the famous city states are Sparta and Athens. Sparta imposed many tensions on the individual. Sparta was a highly militarized state and would pull the boys away from the family usually around age seven and put them into a state sponsored training regimen that would make them highly skilled warriors. If the boy was unable to complete the training for any reason they were seen as unable to be a Spartan and were usually seen as an outcast and removed from society. The Spartans, just like most other societies in ancient times, valued boys over girls. “Spartan parents often exposed female babies to the elements and leave them to die they also made decisions on male infants testing them and seeing if they would develop into a mature warrior and if not they would face the same fate as females.”1 This

Sparta was, above all, a military state, and emphasis on military fitness began at birth, imprinted through society and the political system. The education of the Spartan male children prove that the military and war was constantly a huge part of Spartan society, and the laws and systems that Sparta was governed by, only enforced the militaristic attitude into the society of Sparta. That the Spartans needed to be ready for war is proved by the discord between the Spartiate and the helots, who outnumbered and under ranked the Spartans.