There are many obvious differences and some comparisons between the women in Athens to the ones in Sparta. Women from both of these societies played different roles while many who have not done the research may think they lived the same.
To begin, Sparta was huge on their military. Women were fully involved and were given physical training, as their husbands would leave from a young age for years and would only come back to their wives if they were to make a stronger family. Women were there to provide them with their equipment and know how protect their family while their husbands were gone. Unlike Athenian women they had nothing to do with their military. The men only went to the military for two years and then were able to come back which shows us how their military was not a priority to them. Athens was never big on military as Sparta was they were known to rather value philosophy, art, and such.
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Spartan women were more likely to be seen out in public as much as men. They were allowed to play sports as they believed women who did could be a better mother figure because it helped them remain healthy. Women from Sparta were as well allowed to socialize with other men although it wasn’t highly encouraged it wasn’t frowned upon either. They were treated as equally as men since birth which is why they had more of a public life than the women from Athens.
Athenian women, were confined to their homes in order to take care of their family. Other than watching over the household and attending their husbands, they had to take care of all chores as it was considered their “job”. They as well watched over their slaves and if anything was ever needed from the market a slave would be sent to go get it. These women did not live a public life as they weren’t able to leave their home. Married women were not allowed to speak with any men however, were allowed to socialize with other women unlike the married women from
Women however, were not allowed to attend school. Women stayed at home and learned the trades of housekeeping and parenting, although a few prosperous families hired private tutors to educate their daughters. There were even a handful of very wise and educated Athenian women! Even though select women could be educated, there was one thing Athenian women could never do, no matter how wealthy they were. This was to be a citizen.
They stay at home until they were married like the spartans women. If they get married they are also to be expected to have children. Women in Athens were taught skills they would need to run a home such as weaving, textile, motherhood, embroidering and cooking. They are expected to look after the home, make clothes , and bear children.
Another aspect of life where Athenian women were held back was the political side of things. Women in Athens had very few legal rights. A woman could not go to court or sue someone, if she wanted justice she would have to have a man go to
In Classical Greece, roles played by males and females in society were well-defined as well as very distinct from each other. Expectations to uphold these societal norms were strong, as a breakdown within the system could destroy the success of the oikos (the household) and the male’s reputation—two of the most important facets of Athenian life. The key to a thriving oikos and an unblemished reputation was a good wife who would efficiently and profitably run the household. It was the male’s role, however, to ensure excellent household management by molding a young woman into a good wife. Women were expected to enter the marriage as a symbolically empty vessel; in other words, a
If you built a time machine and I had to choose between being sent to Sparta and the Salian Franks, it would be a tough call, but in the end I would have to choose to live in Sparta. There are many reasons behind that choice, but most of them tie back to me being a female and how each society treated their women, both Spartan and Salian cultures treated women better then Roman society that being said Spartan culture, according to Xenophon women were treated very similarly to the men in many ways.
This investigation will attempt to answer the question what are the similarities and differences of the role of women in Athens and Sparta. The question is relevant because women’s roles have developed over time and knowing women’s history helps women’s rights to keep moving forward. The issues that will be addressed are the religious, job roles and the expectations of women in their society. Women of wealth and women of lower classes will be included. This investigation will focus on the time period of 600 BC to 300 BC and the places investigated will include Athens and Sparta. This will be accomplished through a thorough examination of academic journals, books and websites.
Even being from the same time frame in history, the Roman women from Sparta and the Greek women from Athens were completely different. Their ideas, habits, and daily activities were majorly impacted by the community they lived in. Some of the main differences between the lifestyles of these women include the rights they were given under the government, the daily and professional attire of the women, and the marital and divorce rituals of each of the women. Though they had many different things about them, they also had some similarities that connected them together. Both the Athens and Sparta have two completely different statuses for their women in the society, in many different aspects as well.
Daily life was one of the most distinguishable factors of Athenian and Spartan women, and it varied depending on social status. The communal job of Athenian women was confinement to daily life in their domain; the home or ‘oikos’, immersing themselves in domestic activities. This notion was verified by ancient writer Xenophon; “…Thus, to be woman it is more honourable to stay indoors than to abide in the fields…” .They were responsible for various jobs in order to support their families including cooking meals and producing textiles. The majority of affluent women had established slave work in their homes; hence they verified their decadence by not partaking in laborious work
First, women in Sparta had more freedom. In the text it states, “women were stronger and they formed friendships with whoever they wanted.” Women could own properties all by themselves. This proves that women in Sparta had more freedom than women in other Greek city-states.
Within an Athenian household, women were notorious for taking care of the kids and keeping the slaves on track. The one capability the women were believed to have was to reproduce and care for the kids. The people of Athens conceived women to have no purpose or role to play within their society, leaving them underestimated. Women were nothing but property to the men and were forced to follow and listen to their husband or father. The men had full control of what they wanted the women do.
When looking at the roles of women in Spartan and Athenian culture it is important to understand the societies that they lived in. By going to an general idea of Spartan and Athenian culture one can see how women were treated and viewed. Then in return contrast the difference of what rights and opportunities were entitled to the women of Sparta and Athens. Studying the role of women is no different then when studying men simply identity their rights, opportunities, and views. Once these rights, opportunities, and views had been highlighted and explained there will be a more detailed contrast of these women.
Throughout ancient human history, men and women held vastly different roles. Women were often given the duty of bearing and raising children, whereas men were expected to fight, provide an income, and protect the household. Women were seen as totally inferior to men and described by Euripedes as “a curse to mankind” and “a plague worse than fire or any viper.” However, this misogynistic view of women and designated role of inferiority was not apparent in every ancient civilization. The role of the female in ancient Greek history can best be explored and contrasted between two important civilizations: The Spartans and the Athenians. The Spartan women were incredibly advanced for their time, and the Athenian women were drastically far behind. Both the Spartan and Athenian women held roles at home and lived lives far removed from the men of their societies. However, their lives were much different. While the Spartan women were strong and educated, the Athenian women held a status almost equal to slavery. The Spartan women were far more advanced than Athenians in aspects of life including education, athleticism, and independence.
The treatment of women in ancient societies was the same in nearly every ancient civilization. The majority of ancient Greece, especially Athens, was no exception. The treatment of women in Athens was the same as every other Greek city-state, except Sparta. Women’s rights in Athens and Sparta were completely different for a short period of time before it returned to how it was before Sparta conquered Messenia. Women in Sparta had rights women everywhere else in Ancient Greece, especially Athens, didn’t have. They had control over property, worked, and did basically everything men did before, rights that women could have never have dreamed of having before that time (Fleck and Hanssen, 2005).
A woman’s place was supposed to be at home, in both Sparta and Athens, but the capacity in which they were supposed to be at home differed substantially. In Athens, it was compulsory for women to be acquiescent and compliant. They were supposed to stay home most of the time, bearing, nourishing and taking care of the children, spinning and weaving clothes, keeping the home clean and tidy, preparing food or overseeing the preparation of food by the servants; women from Sparta were the complete opposite of the women in Athens, they were allowed to keep property with the over seeing of the male counterpart, which according to Aristotle, said that in 4th BCE, 405 Sparta was owned by women, and may have contributed to
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.