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Essay On Spartan Women

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Throughout history it has been noted that very little rights were given to women during ancient times. Women have always had to fight for some kind of rights such as the right to vote, serve in the armed forces and for equal pay to name a few. This was no different for the women of ancient Sparta and Athens. During this time, the rights of women were different depending on where they lived. Although these two city-states were close in proximity but the rights of the women of Sparta and Athens were not the same. This paper will identify some of the differences between these groups in regards to their education, private and public life as well as their political lives.
Education was an important part of life during this time. There was much …show more content…

They were also taught at home by their mother to read and write. In Sarah B. Pomeroy (2002), book Women History and Ancient History, she pointed out that, “Because Spartan women were married at the age of 18, they have lots of times to spend for education. They learned reading, writing and other "mousike" skill, likes music, dancing and poetry.” In Sparta, the slaves did the domestic work. In regards to the Spartan women and physical education, it was a huge part of their lives. They were as well trained physically as the men. These women were to become strong and fit. Sara B. Pomeroy also stated that, “Exercise for Spartan women was seen as a guarantee that the strong and fit would be better survive childbirth and reproduce healthy offspring.” The Spartans believed that if women were strong and fit, they would be able to have babies that were strong and could serve on the battlefield when they grew up to become young men. In order to become physically strong, the Spartan women lifted heavy weights like the men of Sparta. These women were athletic and had great strength and would sometimes participate in sports like wrestling. In addition, they also were able to participate in competitions where they would run, ride horses or throw the javelin. Elaine Fantham in her book, Women in the Classical World stated that “Spartan women were the only Greek women we know of who stripped for athletics,

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