Spartan Women Essay

1682 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Portrayal of women in greek mythology

Spartan Women prove the old saying, behind every great man is a great women, to be true. Everyone has heard of the Spartan warrior men and their courageous battles. What about the women that stood behind those men, the ones who birthed those men, married those men? Spartan women helped to shape, protect, and form the society that they lived in.
The women in Sparta were strong. They birthed warriors. They were warriors themselves. “They also underwent an intensive physical training program, which included discus and javelin throwing, and wrestling. The purpose of this training program was to ensure that they became fit breeders of Spartan babies.” (Garland, Robert. "The People." Daily Life of the Ancient Greeks. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1998. …show more content…

Spartan women were allowed to own and control land. “Yet it does seem to be the case that Spartan daughters received as dowries one-half the amount of their parents’ property that their brothers received as inheritance.” (Pomeroy, Sarah B., Stanley M. Burstein, Walter Donlan, and Jennifer Tolbert Roberts. "Becoming a Spartan Woman." Ancient Greece: A Political, Social, and Cultural History. New York: Oxford UP, 1999. 143. Print) Whereas Athenian women only received one-sixth the amount that their brothers inherited. Spartan women inherited three times as more than their Athenian sisters. Spartan women were also allowed and even encouraged to be educated, whereas the education of Athenian girls was almost nonexistent. In Athens the majority of girls “… received merely a basic training in how to run the household, generally from their mothers. Girls may even have been discouraged from becoming literate in order to keep them “unspoiled.”( Garland, Robert. "The People." Daily Life of the Ancient Greeks. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1998. 103. Print.) Whereas in Sparta the girls were educated at the state’s expense. “Specific lines of development were prescribed for Spartan girls as much as they were for boys. The educational system for girls was also organized according to age classes. (Pomeroy, Sarah B., Stanley M. Burstein, Walter Donlan, and Jennifer Tolbert Roberts. "Becoming a Spartan Woman." Ancient Greece: A Political, Social, and Cultural History. New York: Oxford UP, 1999. 141. Print) Spartan women were also allowed more freedoms in the way that they dressed than their Athenian counterparts. “In earlier times Athenian women wore the peplos, a long heavy woolen garment which revealed little of the figure beneath. In the middle of the sixth century B.C., the peplos was replaced by a lighter and finer garment made of linen called

Show More
Related

  • Spartan Society Essay

    1200 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hellenic culture in the Spartan community was that of a humble elite. True Spartan culture is well captured in Xenophon’s work, Spartan Society, as he wrote of how this elitist society viewed not only themselves, but the other countries around them. This work shines light into the three-part worldview of the ancient, Hellenic Spartans of: humanism, idealism, and rationalism. As Xenophon begins to write over the whole of the Spartan society it can be seen how the Spartans lived out the worldview of this Hellenistic society. This living out of the worldview recorded in Xenophon’s, Spartan Society, illustrates their worldview through the noting of Lycurgus’ accomplishments and the contrast of the “other.”

    Read More

  • Sparta: Infrastructure, Social Structure, and Superstructure

    1515 Words  | 4 Pages

    Like most Greek states of the Archaic and Classical Era, the Spartan city-state was a militaristic one. Sparta, however, took the idea to its extreme. In order to become the best soldiers, Spartan citizens had to dedicate their entire lives to the occupation. In fact to be a soldier – a hoplite – was the full infrastructure of Spartan society. While most Greek city-states looked down on labor, physical work, and even working for profit, they still had to work for a living, produce something. “The Spartans a...

    Read More

  • Spartan Women: Pioneers of Gender Equality

    1546 Words  | 4 Pages

    Spartan women were considered fundamentally more advanced than other women of Athens, due to the way that Spartan women were reared. Spartan women were treated equally to men, and given freedom like the men were. They were given the opportunity to train with men, and were even slightly more educated than their male cohorts. Spartan women were exceptionally more advanced than other women during this age due to these factors, and are a great example of strong women within past civilizations.

    Read More

  • Sparta: The Militarized City-State of Ancient Greece

    1332 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sparta was a key city state which was located on the Peloponnesian Peninsula in southern Greek, which today is referred to as Laconia. Sparta is historically known for their strong military training, warfare tactics, and numerous victories. This city state included full citizens known as the Spartans, the helots, and the Perioeci. The men of Sparta had a main obligation to become strong warriors, fight with their brothers, and protect against any invasions or attacks. The helots where owned by city state of Sparta. They came from Messenia and were forced into slavery after being invaded by the Spartans in c.735. The helot’s responsibilities included farming, being of help if needed during battles, used as nurses, and for any other task that need to be accomplished. Unlike many traditional slaves, the Messenia’s were given certain leeway. They had

    Read More

  • Differences Between Sparta And Athenian Women

    1246 Words  | 3 Pages

    In their youth, Spartan women were allowed to train with Spartan warriors. This was done in the belief that their training would give them the power to bear warrior sons (Robert R. Edgar). In fact, women in Sparta formed a military background in their youth. They were also as strong

    Read More

  • The Role of Spartan Women

    1440 Words  | 3 Pages

    Unlike other Greek city states, women played an integral role in Spartan society as they were the backbone of the Spartan economic system of inheritance and marriage dowry and they were relied upon to fulfill their main responsibility of producing Spartan warrior sons. These principle economic systems affected wealth distribution among Spartan citizens especially among the Spartan elite class. Spartan women led a completely different life than women in most other ancient Greek city states, as they were depended upon to maintain Spartan social systems. In a society where the state is more involved in home life women had freedom of movement and they were permitted to communicate with men who were not their husbands. Women had domestic responsibilities including the maintenance of homes and farms when the men were on campaign, while the typical Greek female responsibilities such as weaving were delegated to slaves. Girls were raised much like Spartan boys as they were made to go through physical training insuring their success in fulfilling their most important role in society, child-bearing. The few primary sources on Sparta and Spartiate women, namely Aristotle, Plutarch, Herodotus and Xenophon were historians who lived after the prominence of ancient Sparta; therefore, the facts regarding the women’s influence in social, economic and political issues must be carefully interpreted and analysed with help from secondary sources.

    Read More

  • Kyniska of Sparta

    1295 Words  | 3 Pages

    During that whole time men were only written about riding and taming these creatures, not women. Ancient Greece was a civilization where men did all the rough tasks while women stayed home caring for kids and cleaning. In a world characterized by male dominance, one woman stood out. Kyniska of Sparta was the most important visionary for women’s’ rights because of her understanding of class structure through participating in the Olympic Games. She became the first woman ever to win the four-horse chariot race with her own bred and tamed horses.

    Read More

  • Aspects of Spartan Culture

    1595 Words  | 4 Pages

    middle of paper ... ... Such virtues are the remnants of Spartan culture that are thriving in today’s society and will continue to shape the lives of mankind. Works Cited Blundell, Sue. Women in Ancient Greece.

    Read More

  • Spartan Society to the Battle of Leuctra

    1806 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...litary end even the women in Sparta would have been affected by the military ways of life almost as much as the young men. From childhood they were being primed to raise a family, they were taught in the ways of mid wifery, learning the correct manner in teaching the future young men of Sparta and keeping themselves fit to produce fit children.

    Read More

  • How Did Sparta Influence Ancient Greece

    733 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the article Athens vs. Sparta it states , “ The primary goal of Spartan education was to produce good soldiers. Training for the military began at age 7, as all Spartan boys left home to go to military school. From then until the time they were 18, they were subject to harsh training and discipline. Historical accounts tell of Spartan boys as being allowed no shoes, very few clothes, and being taught to take pride in enduring pain and hardship.” This is important because the Spartan education system developed well disciplined soldiers. In the article it also states, “ Unlike their Athenian counterparts, Spartan girls also went to school at age seven. There they learned gymnastics, wrestling, and did calisthenics. These schools were similar in many ways to the school's Spartan boys attended, as it was the Spartan opinion that strong women produced strong babies, which would then grow into strong soldiers to serve the state.” Their mindset was to develop highly trained soldiers , which also required women to be strong. This caused Spartan women to be provided their own education. This is significant because Sparta was one of the first ancient cities to provide women an education in

    Read More

  • Sparta Strengths And Weaknesses Essay

    715 Words  | 2 Pages

    If the boys are tough, then they have a strong mindset because they were trained to be strong no matter what. On Document A, it says,”Only the rudiments [basics] of reading and writing were taught; instructions consisted for the most part in … obedience, bodily fitness, and courage to conquer in battle.” Another strength is that the Spartan girls were given hard physical training so that they would give birth

    Read More

  • Women In Greek Art Essay

    1051 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the Aegean and Greek periods of art, women were depicted differently than they had previously been in different parts of the world. In art of the prehistoric period and art of the ancient near east, women had been depicted as fertility symbols. The statuettes such as the Venus of Willendorf, the woman’s features were swollen to show the desired qualities for a woman who was fertile. The statues were also used as a portable tools for luck in fertility, not only an example of the ideal woman (Prehistoric Art).

    Read More

  • Spartan Political and Social System

    1384 Words  | 3 Pages

    From birth Spartan children were expected to be physically strong and when male children were ten days old they were examined by a council of elders to see if the child had enough potential to be a warrior, or if it should be ‘exposed’. The children who were exposed were left to die at Apothetae on the slopes of Mt. Tygetus. The children who passed the examination were left in the care of their mothers until they reached the age of seven, at which point they left home to live in the barrack with other males, and were educated and trained in how to be a brave and strong warrior. While these children were still living at home they were mainly left in the care of a nurse, who taught them the first stage of their life-long education in the military. The nurses taught the children fight their fears as well as general superstition, toughening up the children so they would be able to better survive when they reach the age of seven and moved the barracks.

    Read More

  • Importance Of Agoge In Sparta

    1285 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the greatest responsibilities a woman had in Classical Sparta was giving birth to the Spartan males. Through physical training when a young teen with the Spartan boys, the women needed to be healthy and strong to produce healthy children capable of going through the agoge training. “…By athleticism they made sure that their children would be up to the standard of physical fitness demanded by the Spartan system.” (H.Michell, Sparta). The Spartan mother would prepare the young Spartans prior to the agoge; she would have minimal interaction and supply minimal clothing and

    Read More

  • Differences and Similarities of The Women of Athens and Sparta

    1843 Words  | 4 Pages

    Women in the ancient world had few rights, they differed from country to country or, in the case of the women of Athens and Sparta, from city-state to the city-state. The women of the city-states of Athens and Sparta had profound differences in their roles in the political and the daily lives of their families and their cities. When it came to the difference in levels of power and the rights of women, Sparta was a leader in its time. At the same time, their rights as citizens were almost the same. While they did not take an active part in politics, they had opinions and ideas like women all over the world. Their thoughts, deeds, and opinions rarely recorded or if they were, the male historians or philosophers of the time recorded them. What were roles did the women in ancient Athens and Sparta? Were they citizens, did they have personal freedoms? On the other hand, did they in a time when the beginnings of democracy were happening were they less than a second-class citizen? The misogyny and patriarchal societies continued throughout the ancient and classical periods only beginning to change in the Hellenistic era.

    Read More

More about Spartan Women Essay

Open Document