Sparta Social Structure

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.

On the contrary to life of women in Athens, the women of Sparta had considerable freedom. They were allowed to leave their houses when ever they pleased. They were required per the state policy to have education both from physical and educational perspective. The reason for physical education was because they could make and nourish babies that would be healthy for the children to be capable of being good warriors and if the baby was not fit as they would be judged by the elders, as mentioned before they would be left to die outside the city.

Throughout the ancient world women possessed few rights and privileges. A woman’s freedom varied depending on where she was born, in this case Athens and Sparta. But it can be said that most women were second-class citizens during this time period. Most women had limited social roles, little education, and no involvement in politics. Power and freedom was something that only existed in a man’s world, while women were expected to be submissive, docile, bear children, and take care of the household. Surviving records from ancient Greece show that women’s roles did not differ much from city-state to city-state but there were exceptions that include noble women and most notably, Spartan women. Some civilizations treated women with respect

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.

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

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.

Sparta made its every male into a soldier, they trained starting at a young age into late ages. This system limited Spartans contact with the outside world. As it says in the Spartan Society and Values, no man is proved to be a good man in war unless faces the blood if slaughter. This shows the ruthless ways of the Greeks with the men. They had to train for the military regardless of what they desired for the honor of their family.

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.

Sparta had three groups of people. The slaves who were the ones that did all the work, Spartan females who were taught to be fit and be patriotic. Last were the Spartan males who were taught to fight and to aspire to be the perfect

When comparing women of different cultures, it is certain that there will be some similarities as well as differences. Geographically, Athens and Sparta are located close to each other but they differ greatly in their beliefs and customs, especially when it comes to women. It is important that we try to get ourselves into the mindset of these different cultures to better understand why the roles of women were the way they were. Both Spartan and Athenian women spent a lot of their time at home but doing totally different things under totally different conditions. Athenian women had similar rights to those of slaves, slightly more.

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); "...

Spartan girls started their formal education at age seven, just like boys. They also both participated in many physical

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

The next stage in turning a Spartan male into a Spartiate soldier was for them to become enrolled as an eiren, or a prefect. Their job was to oversee the younger boys, as had been done for them. They were encouraged to use violence against the younger boys to toughen them up. The older boys were now expected to attempt to get into a syssition, however if they failed to get into the syssition they applied for they would lose their citizenship and become an outcast. The Spartans at this point were able to go to war and get married, however they were not allowed to leave the barracks.