Sparta Social Structure

The freedom and greater respect for Spartan women began at birth with the fact that there were more girls than boys, because they were not victims of the state program of infanticide as was practiced in Athens. There were laws setup that required female infants and children to be given the same care and food as their brothers in contrast to other Greek cities where girls were frequently given less and lower quality food. The reason for this was because it was thought that if the girls had more food then their bodies would be better prepared for producing a healthy child for the Spartan society.

In the ancient Greek world, Spartan women had the most rights and power of all the women during this time. These women were allowed education, becoming a wife was important, they were also depended on to produce strong and healthy offspring, and they were independent. Spartan women were superior compared to any other women of ancient Greece. Women played a huge role in society. To begin, young girls in Sparta had the freedom to mature on their own while growing up.

The Spartans were completely militaristic. Strength was the only goal for Spartan males. After a child was born in Sparta they were examined and if they had any illnesses or deformities they were thrown in a chasm. At the age of 6 or 7 young boys were taken from their mothers and trained to be warriors. They trained barefooted, barehanded, and in really light clothing.

There are many aspects of Spartan culture that I feel were the most successful for the city-state. The most important aspect I feel the Spartans city-state had was their education. As shown in our History Alive books, Sparta didn’t focus on math, reading, or writing. Discipline and strength were what boys and girls were educated by. From age 7 all Spartan children were trained to fight. Some skills they learned were: wrestling, boxing, gymnastics and foot racing. All these sports helped the girls and boys get stronger and become more advanced for when fighting or in war. There were some differences on how boys were trained and educated. Until age 6 or 7, boys were taught by their mothers. When they were finally ready to learn how to

They couldn't leave the house with out their husbands permission like they could not visit the temple with out their husband permission.Unlike in Sparta, women had more freedom. They didn't need husbands permission, they could run a business , trained as a warriors, and they also attend military

These young males would spend almost all of their lives together training. The warrior bond was so strong in Sparta that the men who lived in such close quarters with each other shared sexual relationships.(1) It was thought that teaching children to live under deplorable conditions in a survival of the fittest atmosphere would produce excellent adult soldiers. Boys were given a single garment and no sandals for the year as a means of toughening them up. They were fed things which modern society would consider inedible. Young Spartan males were also taught to steal from each other in order to fill their stomachs. Those who were caught were severely punished but a Spartan who didn 't steal was considered weak and cowardly. If a young soldier survived his training he would become a member of the Homoioi. A soldier was expected to marry at the age of thirty.(3) This marriage would be arranged and a ceremony would take place in which the man would symbolically seem to take the woman by force. Spartan soldiers did not live with their wives and were expected to see them only in the dark of the night in order to impregnate them and procreate. At the age

They could use their land in anyway they pleased to. Spartan women generally had more legal rights than Athenian women in terms of land ownage. Though not everyone perceived women owning land in a positive way. Aristotle believed that allowing Spartan women the privilege of owning land contributed to the fall of their state. Regardless, permitting the ladies the freedom of inheriting and owning land gave them a sense of equality and further unified the state as a

Spartan and Athenian Women’s Rights Women in Sparta and Athens lived very different lives. Spartan women had more rights than Athenian women did. Both societies were controlled by men, but Athenian women were treated worse. Athenian women weren’t allowed to go out of the house by themselves, voice their political views, own land, or get an education. In society, they thought they should keep women away from the rest of the village, so that’s what they did.

The Spartan social roles and government were very exquisite, proper and always knows their positions. At the bottom of the scale there where the Helots. The helots had so little to no rights that it was okay if their owners killed them. The helots were usually obtained or captured by the Spartans when out in battle. Helots were used as property and served their masters. Except they were not following what the man said. They followed what the women said due to the fact that men were fighting in wars and boys were training. Citizen males over the age of thirty were allowed to vote. The women were allowed to become citizen; as well they just did not receive the same rights as the men might have. Though the women in Sparta did have the most freedoms. They were allowed to own their own properties, they did not need permission to go out of the house; all because of the respect the Spartans had for mothers, also because the men were always in war. Lastly there was the Gerontes. They were the citizen males who were rich and over the age of sixty who had the most rights. One could only become a Genonte after surviving war. So, women could not become a Genonte due to the fact that they were not allowed to join the military and because they were not male.

Another area where Sparta and Athens differed greatly was in their military. Spartan men were raised to be warriors. Beginning on their seventh birthday when they were removed from their homes and enrolled in the Agoge, an education system to train them to be soldiers. (Brand, n.d., p. 6). At the age of 20, they were considered soldiers. And they were considered a soldier until they turned 60 or died.

Military, Women, Government, and Strength are just some of Sparta’s values. If given the choice to live in either Sparta or Athens, my choice would be Athens. Sparta has a better government, military, and take care of the Spartan women, unlike Athens.

Unlike the Athenian women the traits of Spartan culture translated into their everyday lives. Spartan women were still expected to produce healthy offspring like their Athenian counterparts, but there was more to their lives than just producing children. Spartan women were expected to manage households, slaves, and estates. They were even trained like the males in their society. Xenophon commented on Lycurgus' reform (which included training for women); "...

Sparta a city filled with uncultured discipline, a city that was filled with the most relentless warriors of all time, the Spartans. The Spartans dedicated their lives to combat and training. Spartan children were removed from the homes of their parents at the age of 7 to begin their training called 'agoge ', which was a military style training regimen to craft and mold them into the warriors the once were. They were trained to endure the worst of elements and trained to overcome cold, hunger and pain. They were accustomed to the to the Spartan code which was to follow orders, fight hard, and without question, die in the line of battle and not withdraw or surrender to the enemy. To achieve success in their military tactics and training Sparta sacrificed all the pleasures many other regions were accustomed to such as, the arts, culture, religion and other various things that made life worthwhile. To the Spartans, their true purpose in this world was war and their entire life was to be focused around it. "From the vigorous iron-hearted warriors of this city-state has come the adjective Spartan. Sparta prided itself not on art, learning, or splendid buildings, but on its valiant men who served their city in the place of walls of bricks." (History of Ancient Greece: Sparta)

In Sparta, the leaders organized their entire society along military line and only warriors participated in political life. Spartan man’s role was to be a soldier, so that military training began at the age of seven and remained on active duty until the age of sixty. Spartan women’s role was to give birth as many as possible and to manage the economic affairs of the households. For this reason, Spartan women were trained to be physically fit to survive deliveries.

First, besides their strong military, Sparta was known for providing women with a decent amount of rights. In these rights, education was provided. According to Plutarch(Document E), women had to be educated and trained in order to produce healthy offspring. Women were trained in many things such as “wrestling running, and throwing the quoit*, and casting the dart”(Document E). These activities were meant to strengthen women in order to produce “healthy and vigorous offspring”(Document E). By producing healthy and vigorous offspring, Sparta had a better chance at winning battles. Therefore, women being provided with an education had highly contributed to the strengths of a Spartan education.