The women of ancient Sparta were an enlightened lot. These women were allowed to learn reading and writing. They were also given the freedom to learn to protect themselves whenever necessary.
In comparison to other women of the times, like for example, the women of Athens, the women of Sparta were much better off; while the women of Athens were expected to learn and to know how to weave, spin, and generally be aware of all the domestic arts, the women of Sparta were expected to stand at par with the men of the state.If women learnt weaving and spinning, these women were ‘helots’ or ‘perioeci’, women who had been a part of the conquered Pelopponese. Spartan women leant, among other things, athletic sports like javelin throw, discus, foot racing, and were expected to play important roles in battles with the men. In fact, these women would even run naked amongst the men, and they were accorded due respect for their feats and accomplishments in the athletic fields.
Spartan women were also expected to be extremely loyal to their state, and to be able to and prepared to produce excellently healthy children.Their Athenian counterparts were not taught any of these things, and as one Athenian, Menander, put it, “Teaching a woman to read and write? What a terrible thing to do! Like feeding a vile snake on more poison! ” (“The Women of Sparta” n. d) It is often said that it was because of the fact that Sparta was a state that laid primary focus and gave importance to military strength that the women of Sparta were given training in all the things that men would train in. he men of Sparta in fact focused all their energies into the perpetuation of their state, and women too, right from when they were young girls, expected to share the same ideals.
Spartan women were given a stake equal to that of men in the success or the failure of their state, and this became especially important because most of the time, the Spartan men would be away fighting some war or the other, and women were expected to take on the running of the state and its affairs in the men’s’ absence.In short, historians often state that Spartan women played their given roles by bearing strong healthy children who would also serve the state when the time came, and by acquiring a good enough education so that they would be able to manage efficiently their affairs and affairs of the state whenever their husbands were absent. (Thibault, Pietsch, Lisa 2005) One must remember that through the times, gender roles have been similar, and as a matter of fact, even today women are relegated to the second best role in several societies across the world.In ancient Greek society too, women were largely restricted to the domestic sphere of life, while men would form a part of the public sphere.
Women and children were mostly ignored by the men, and they were not expected to gain an education and to learn how to read or write. Sparta was the only one of its kind, where women were encouraged to emerge from their domestic roles and take on roles that focused on the public sphere of life. The Spartans valued, among other things, conformity and frugality, and this meant that women too were expected to become great soldiers, who would fight bravely for their country.Women had to literally run their country when the men were away, and gender roles were ingrained in girls and boys when they were still young and unformed.
Spartan girls, for example, instilled conformity into boys by singing praises of those boys who conformed, while boys did the same on their side. Those who did not conform would be ridiculed by both boys and girls, and all this meant that at a very early age, boys would be forced to learn the value and the benefits to the state of placing collective interests above those of their own, and this factor would prove to be extremely useful when it was time for taking part in military campaigns. “The development and impact of gender roles in Sparta” n. d) It is an important fact that Sparta was a state that had managed to vanquish the Peloponnesians, as early as 600 BCE.
The vanquished people, including the Helots, were required to carry out all the tough agricultural labor on Spartan lands, and this meant that Sparta gradually became self sufficient as far as food was concerned, and in addition, it was the proud owner of several hundreds of slaves. The Spartans did not need to import anything from the outside world, and this meant that they became isolated form their neighbors.Furthermore, the presence of such a large number of slaves within the state meant that the people feared a rebellion at any time, and as a result, the entire state became much like an armed camp, with both men and women taking part in the training. A boy would have to leave home at the tender age of seven for his military training, and from thenceforth, all his energies would be spent on working for the betterment and the fortification of their beloved Sparta.
Those women who were forced to send their young sons away at the age of seven also took part in military training, and it is said that at times, the state would be given preference over family, even for the women. When it was time for Spartan women to get married, the personal preferences of both the boy and the girl would not be taken into account. The parents of both sides would arrange the marriage, and the boy and the girl had to consent, no matter what.However, Spartan women had an easier life, because they could get married at eighteen, unlike other Greeks, who had to get married much before.
This would also guarantee that the women produced healthy children, and not weak and undernourished ones. Apparently, other Greeks believed that Spartan women were far too powerful for the good of the state; as Plutarch put it, “The men of Sparta always obeyed their wives”, while Aristotle believed that the empowerment of women would in actuality lead to the gradual downfall of the country.One must remember that as contrasted to other Greek women of the time, Spartan women did enjoy a great deal of power and authority in whatever they did. The men of Sparta would listen to whatever opinions the women had to offer, and what was even better for the women, they had the right to own property, and daughters inherited property in much the same way as sons did, something that was literally unheard of during those times.
Even better, Spartan women could dispose of the land as they wished.Spartan women did however have a reputation for licentiousness and boldness, perhaps, historians feel, because of the way in which their tunics were cut and stitched. Since women had to train in sports and in executing military maneuvers, at par with the men, they did need more freedom of movement, and perhaps this was the reason for the higher cuts on the tunics, and for the showing off of a little more leg than was considered proper. (Thompson James 2005)Sadly enough, several experts do state that the most important role that Spartan women played was that of a ‘baby maker’; it was their duty to produce the best and most healthy babies so that these babies would be able to serve the state well as they grew up.
This is the popular opinion, despite the proven prowess of Spartan women in athletics, sporting events, and politics and in several affairs of the state, including military prowess and the right to state their opinion without fear.Spartan women even had the right to a say in the political campaigns of their state, and they were as responsible for the internal affairs of the state, as the men. It was apparently the legendary lawmaker of the seventh century BC, Lycurgus, who developed and wrote down the laws of Sparta, and it was this lawmaker who was able to completely reorganize the political and the social structure of Sparta in such a way that it turned out to be a strictly disciplined and a collective sort of society.Lycurgus also developed the stringent military discipline that the boys and girls were expected to train in, and it was he who developed another set of rules meant especially for Spartan women.
These rules were meant to ensure, above everything else, that Spartan society would be able to progress in a strict and disciplined manner, and that Spartan women would be able to serve as the vehicle through which this aim could be achieved. (Fowler, Robin 2006)One can take the example of one of the famous women of Sparta to discern the important role that these women played in the welfare of their country and of their fellow beings. Gorgo was a Queen of Sparta. The daughter of Kleomenes and the wife of Leonidas, Gorgo was one of the better known Spartan women of her times.
The Queen died in the Battle of Thermopylae. Apparently, when she was but a young girl, she took it upon herself to offer her father Kleomenes a bit of advice: not to trust Aristogares, which her father heeded, to his great benefit.In an account by Plutarch, Gorgo has been stated as saying to a contemporary woman from Attica when asked why it was that only Spartan women were allowed to rule men, “Because we are also the only ones who give birth to men” This statement sums up the most important role that Spartan women played during their lifetime; no matter what military campaigns they took part in, or what accolades they won for their achievements in sports against men, Spartan women had the role of bearing healthy children, so that these children would be better able to serve the state as they grew older.One must remember the fact that Spartan women were the only women of those ancient times that remained at the receiving end of praise and eulogies from prominent people of their times such as Thucydides, Xenophon, Euripides, Aristophanes, Plato, Aristotle and Plutarch.
Spartan women however had no say in whom they married; Spartan men could come at any time and claim a bride for themselves, or else, the parents would arrange a suitable match. The men would visit their bride, and go back and sleep with other young men, leaving the woman alone.At times, the man could have two to three children with his wife before he even saw her face in broad daylight, and the women did not appear to suffer for it; she produced babies as it was expected of her to do, and she continued to take part in her military training and sports activities, and served her state in the best way she knew how. Some Spartan women were extremely literate, and wrote poetry, like for example Megalostrata and Cleitagora, who were renowned for their great verses.
Some experts feel that the women of Sparta enjoyed a mutual sexual and educational relationship with each other, in much the same way as the man-boy relationship in Athens. This relationship probably paved the way to the strengthening of the bonds between Spartan women, and led them to become strong and unshakeable women who produced ‘men’ and who were given a role equal to that of men in every sphere. Therein lies the secret to the immense power that Spartan women enjoyed. (“Gorgo and the women of Sparta” n.
d)Works CitedThompson James “Women in Sparta” Women in the Ancient World (2005) March 20, 2008 <http://www.womenintheancientworld.com/women%20in%20sparta.htm>Thibault, Pietsch, Lisa “The role of Spartan women in Ancient Greece” Spartan Women in Greece (2005) March 20, 2008 <http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/11276/the_role_of_spartan_women_in_ancient.html>Fowler, Robin “The Women of Sparta” Suite 101.com (2006) March 20, 2008 <http://ancienthistory.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_women_of_sparta>“Gorgo and the women of Sparta” Geocities (n.d.) March 20, 2008 <http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Aegean/7849/spwomen.html>“The development and impact of gender roles in Sparta” Sparta (n.d.) March 20, 2008 <http://home.triad.rr.com/warfford/ancient/spartagen.html>“The Women of Sparta” Ancient Greek Civilizations (n.d.) March 20, 2008 <http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/aegean/culture/womenofsparta.html>
