Most ancient Greek women were under control of men from the moment of their birth to the moment of their death, weather it be their father or husbands. This may be quite true about Athenian or any other women from different city-states, but Spartan women had a lot more freedom and when compared are found out to be a lot more different then the traditional image of which ancient Greek women are thought to of been treated.
Firstly Spartan women had many more rights then other women of different city-states. They were able to own and control their own property, as well as having the right to pass it down to their son or daughter. Spartan women could even take another husband if theirs had been away at war for too long, which Plutarch recorded in his writings:
When king Leonidas left to fight the Persians he advised his wife and presumably other likely widows:
To marry good men and bear good children.
(The Ancient World,, 1997, p104)
Social and economic status was restricted within the Spartan women’s community. This status was only of importance in issues such as marriage, as a Spartan woman could only marry within the Spartan community as well as within their own social and economic status. The jobs Spartan women were eligible for also depended on their economic/social status. It was unusual for well born women to have a job outside of the house, except some did become priestesses in the temples, whilst the lower born women usually became midwives, shopkeepers, dancers or musicians.
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The great plays staged in London and its more modern counterpart, the films, that are accessible to all, depict the social issues, biases and struggles of not only the characters in the plays or the films, but also the society of that time. As for instance, the acquisition of wealth as a social activity, which is very primitive to man, as primitive as his quest to survive, has been portrayed in ...
Education would be one of the most recognized differences, which made the Spartan women quite different from the rest of the women living in different city-states. Such domestic arts as spinning and weaving, which would have been a usual routine for Athenian women, were relegated to helots by Spartan women. Spartan girls from the age of 7 were entitled to an education. This education however was physical more so than academic, but nevertheless must have been extremely important to Sparta as they are the only Greeks to of instituted it as state policy. The girls attended their own sisterhood barracks where they were taught gymnastics, wrestling and survival skills. There are some reports that even mention a girl’s education being equally as brutal as the boy’s, including many events such as javelin, discus, foot races, and staged battles. In many such events Spartan women usually competed naked in the presence of their male counterparts, and were respected for their athletic feats.
Women were usually expected to compete in athletic competitions, and to maintain their fitness and health levels to produce strong babies, preferably boys who would eventually become soldiers. If babies were seen as unfit when examined at birth they were abandoned on Mt Taygetos and left to die. Spartan women were also taught to read and write much to the disgust of Menander, an Athenian.
Teaching a woman to read and write? What a terrible thing to do! Like feeding a vile snake on more poison.
-Menander (Athenian)
(http://emuseum.mnsu.edu/prehistory/aegean/culture/womenofsparta.html)
Parents arranged all marriages in Sparta, and therefore the couples usually did not see each other until after the ceremony when the bridal veil was removed. The average ages for women to marry was in their early teens, whilst men usually got married in about their mid-thirties. A husband then had to buy his new wife from her father.
Some arranged marriages were even chosen on the women’s athletic ability. Before marrying, a couple was required to wrestle in public to show their compatibility. If compatible the groom’s father would agree to the marriage, and twelve months after this selection the couple would marry.
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Sparta was a Greek state renowned for its individuality amongst the rest of Greece from the sixth century BC. The majority of Greece was cultured in their thinking and the arts, yet very conservative concerning the roles of women. Sparta, however, involved women much more in their society. Importance was placed on the physical fitness and the equality between the Spartiates - therefore, including ...
The night before the wedding an unusual tradition was carried out. The woman was abducted in the night by her suitor her head was then shaved; she was bathed in holy water and was then made to wear men’s clothing while lying on a straw pallet in the dark. If a girl married she was formally turned into a women through the marriage ceremony, and their childhood toys were taken off them and dedicated to a goddess.
During the marriage ceremony, the bride wore a white robe, a veil, and jewellery given to her by her husband’s family. The ceremony usually took place in the groom’s tent and the festivities lasted seven days. If a woman was wealthy enough she could have even had a husband for each house she maintained.
Not every women in Sparta became married, One group of women existed who were unusually free to go out and about as they pleased, they were known as the HETAIRAI. These women were trained to become companions for men. They were usually well educated and pretty. Usually they were invited to men’s dinner parties to join in with the discussions and to play music to the guests. (Ancient Greece, 1992, p61)
Overall women were seen as a very important asset to Sparta’s secure future as they were respected and expected to produce strong baby boys who would eventually serve in one of the most well known armies of ancient times.
