The Women Of Sparta Women

Just like most Spartan women. In the Spartan Woman by Emily Gere Mason, she discuses the traits of a traditional Spartan Woman. They were strong and stood up for what they believed in, they even owned property. They were essential in everyday life to men, mostly for their pleasure and the fact they were consider and entry to the gods. But women knew these things and used them in their favor. Using power of your femininity is smart, to a certain extant. I believe that strong Spartan women have also influenced today’s society by the strong roles they played back then. In Kay O’Pry’s Social and Political Roles of Women in Athens and Sparta, she gives more insight into the actual Spartan Woman. How girls who just reached puberty were not married off, allowing them to actual find love and chose for themselves. They also had to be just as educated as the men, so they could be the head of the house when they went off to war. Though they could not be involved in the political world of Sparta, they were still considered to have a huge impact with them. Along with all of these things they could also own property, another responsibility that many women didn’t have

Every single class within the Spartan Society was required to play a very crucial role in making sure the warrior state that was Sparta up held its high level of Military Supremacy over other Greek states and any and all potential invaders considering invading Greece. This statement did not exclude female Spartiates who were tasked with creating healthy, strong warriors to keep Sparta the Warrior state alive and thriving. Besides this stereotypical duty tasked to the Spartiate women it was not their only required job within Sparta to make sure it held Military Supremacy. Spartiate women often played a major role in economic, religious and often social aspects of the Spartan Society. Archaeological evidence from ‘Artemis Orthia’ (A Religious Temple) like ‘Statue of a young female athlete’ have supported some of the information given by these ancient sources and supported the sterotype of Spartan women as being highly visible and active within the state compared to their Greek Counterparts.

They would inherit land from their husbands if they died in battle. As Sparta became involved in more wars and more men died, significant amounts of land fell into the hands of women, to the point where by the fourth century, some of the wealthiest people in Sparta were women. The ability to own property meant that Spartan women were not wholly dependent on men as Athenian women were, and could exercise a degree of independence, especially if they were widowed. The ability to provide for themselves meant that they would not necessarily have to return to the protection of their father or other male relative. Spartan women exercised a much greater influence over society than their Athenian counterparts.

All Spartan males and females were treated as equals unlike Athens were Athenian women were treated like dirt. As children or when born, Spartan men and women were treated as equals and both would get an equal education. Athenian women as children or when born, young males would be treated better and would get an education. Some female infants would be left to die if their were too many family members in the family already and ones that would get killed would have to receive education from their mother or from private tutors in their homes. Spartan women were able to be seen in public anywhere, where only a small group of Athenian women were able to be seen in the public with men around them.

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

The female citizens of Sparta were among the very few Greek women afforded public education. It was traditional for Greek girls to stay home and take care of the household while the boys went to school. However, in Sparta the women of the household were allowed to go to school if they wished. They would learn art, philosophy, war, and music alongside the boys.

Women were strong, independant and free. Boys trained for the army from age 7 in the agoge. The spartan government was to keep everyone safe. Sparta was the perfect city, strong, free, and safe. The women of Sparta got freedom and education.

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.

Chariot racing was a big deal for they had an all-girls competition. At age eighteen girls would take a fitness type of test, if pass then they can marry, if fail they were not allowed to vote or were not counted at citizens. While finding a husband, if a man looking for marriage approaches a women, a women could try to fight him, and if she succeeds she could refuse having a relationship with the man. Spartan women had to be fit because in Spartans eyes healthy mom equals healthy baby that could grow up to be a great warrior. For this reason they would have to be physically and mentally strong.

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

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

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.

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.