The role of women in Spartan

society to the Battle of

Leuctra 371 BC
Powell The citizen women of Sparta were believed to lead unusual
lives by Greek standards.
Lycurus in the Great !hetra women of Sparta were aware of their
role in society in reards to stayin healthy and "t to produce
healthy o#sprin as well as partakin in the runnin of the economy.
$omen in Sparta were treated with the utmost respect% as they
were an essential element in the ancient warrior society.
Spartan women en&oyed much more freedom then women from the
other polis 'Greek city states(. Spartan women were iven reat
privilees as they involved their prominent positions in society in
reards to education% family% reliion and the economy% which soon
became desired by women all over ancient Greece.
)ncient historians such as Plutarch% *enophon% )ristotle% Plato%
+uripides% ,erodotus% Thucydides and )ristophanes provide valuable
insiht to the irls% women and mothers of Sparta% as they left no
records themselves.
Plutarch-s famous Sayins of Spartan $omen aims to promote a
Spartan society where females play an essential role in the
indoctrination of their sons
$omen were perhaps the most important feature of Spartan society
for many reasons and even so their most important role was to ive
birth to healthy sons for Sparta.
They weren.t allowed to spin or weave like women from other parts
of Greece/ such menial tasks were meant for the helots 0 state
owned slaves.
Plutarch When an Ionian woman was priding herself on one of the
tapestries she had made (which was indeed of great value), a
Spartan woman showed of her four most dutiful sons and said they
were the kind of thing a noble and good woman ought to produce,
and should boast of them and take pride in them! This 1uote
illustrates that for Spartan women% skills in handicrafts were not
essential% and were not rearded as important as bearin healthier%
stroner sons for the army.
*enophon 2or free women the most important &ob was to bear
children. 3n order to inculcate the o#sprin with patriotism% the
mother had to have the correct attitude herself.
Spartan mother did rear their sons accordin to the customs and
e4pectations of their state and society. They were proud of their role
in shapin new enerations of citizens.
$omen who produce stron o#sprin.s 'sons( should feel superior to
other women and should be proud of their self rihteousness.
3t implies that women with stron sons were stron themselves
because it is believed that stron Spartan women and men create a
stron o#sprin.
5Great value. also suests that sons were worth more than
dauhters% as sons are the only ones that can achieve the reatest
honour in Sparta.
$omen were encouraed to display patriotism by sacri"cin the
men whom they loved and so hihly did they prize the warriors% that
they are said to have said tears of &oy over the bleedin bodies of
their wounded sons.
Plutarch "s a woman was burying her son, a worthless old crone
came up to her and said# $%ou poor woman, what a misfortune&' $(o,
by the two gods, a piece of good fortune,' she replied, $because I
bore him so that he might die for Sparta, and that is what has
happened!
3nstead of lamentin at the death of their sons% they took pride in
the bravery that had led to that fate.
The women were ordered not to mourn% to su#er in silence durin
their son or husband.s death.
The character of Spartan women is marked with uncommon
"rmness.
)t the shrine of patriotism they went aainst nature. 6ndaunted
bravery and impeached honour was% in their estimation far beyond
a#ection.
3f a son came home from Sparta without his shield the mothers
wouldn.t tolerate a son.s act of cowardice and dishonour to Sparta.
Sources tell us that a Spartan woman killed her son% who had
deserted his post because he was unworthy of Sparta. She
declared7 ,e was not my o#sprin...for 3 did not bear one unworthy
of Sparta.
The education of women was a uni1uely Spartan concept within the
polis, Spartan women were well educated and brouht up in an
orderly fashion to become proper mothers for the state% manae
kleroi 'state8owned property( and partake in reliious festivals.
)s Spartan boys were surrendered to the "goge 'Spartiate trainin
proram( Spartan irls remained at home with their mothers to et
educated% learn readin and writin% as well as bein oranised into
bands for team ames and choral sinin.
3n these bands they were tauht% and had to reularly perform%
choral lyrics of myths that had been immortalised throuh ancient
sons and poems. 9any of these poems would have come from the
)arthaneai (a collection of work composed by Spartan poet )lcman(.
Girls also learned the bibasis 'a form of dancin:e4ercise where the
irls do rump &umps(.
$hilst in these bands the Spartan women also trained in ymnastics
and athletics% such as runnin% wrestlin and &avelin throwin.
Spartan women of all aes were encouraed to mi4 and train with
the Spartan men and enter sportin competitions to et "t and
stron.
Plato on the Spartan women.s education7 there are not only men
but women also who pride themselves on their education/ you can
tell that what 3 say is true and that the Spartans have the best
education in philosophy.
The reasonin behind this idea of physical trainin is that while
Spartan women trained with Spartan men% the men would choose
the stronest woman and marry her because if both parents were
stron and healthy then they are more likely to ive birth to a stron
and healthy child% which was of reat importance to the Spartan
men and especially women .
Spartan women had a reat deal of in;uence and power on Sparta.s
economy.
They were the 5men. of Sparta when their husband and sons were at
war or at the )oe.
The 9anaement of kleroi was an essential skill for Spartan women.
)s each Spartiate owned a kleroi% the kleroi would be inherited by
the wives and mothers of Sparta to raise their sons who would
eventually inherit the kleroi.
This means that they controlled the family.s wealth which a#ected
the entire Spartan aricultural economy which therefore shows their
power on the economy and therefore on Sparta.
Spartan male citizens were dependant on their wife.s e<ciency to
pay their dues to the syssitia.
The manaement of the kleroi was not &ust a responsibility which
separated them from women from other Greek cities/ this role was a
crucial element in the Spartan economy.
3n )thens and Greece poorer women worked on their husbands.
farm and made tapestries to ain e4tra pro"t.
This was not so in Sparta% as manual labour and handcraftin was
seen as an act for the helots only. Spartan women don.t have time
to do lowly acts like handcraftin and manual labour.
,er main oal is to produce healthy and "t children and manae the
Spartan economy.
)ristotle disapproved of the power women wielded in Sparta%
especially in the economy% and felt it contributed stronly to the
downfall of the once mihty polis
3n his writin he fre1uently mentioned that the trend to ive women
economic power could lead to a gynaikokratia, a overnment
controlled by women.
Growth in economic prestie and immense power is apparent
throuh the story of Princess =yniska% the dauhter of =in
)rchidamus and champion of two >lympic chariot team races.
This wealthy e1uestrian e4pert was the owner of a twice >lympic
champion chariot team '?@A and ?@B
CD
(.
She dedicated a statue to herself at the >lympic sanctuary in
>lympus.$hich accordin to historians indicates that% To compete
was a mark of wealth% since horses re1uire a reat deal of rass and
razin land is not plentiful in Greece and this tells us that as a
result women had e#ective control of plentiful wealth.
)rchaeoloical evidence provides us with a deep understandin of
how important the role of reliion was in Sparta and to Spartan
women.
+vidence comes from the sanctuary of )rtemis >rthia% here
hundreds of votive o#erins were found and the ma&ority of them
were lead "urines in the shape of women.
Theories suest that it is linked to childbirth. This theory suests
that prenant women would make these o#erins for three
purposes7 either to ask for a successful childbirth as many women
died from ivin birth in anti1uity% to ask that they bear a stron
and healthy son% "t to become a warrior of Sparta or to make
o#erins to the oddess )phrodite ,era% when their dauhters were
married.
Plutarch% Lycurus stated that only women who had died ivin
birth would be allowed to have marked rave 0 further
archaeoloical evidence reinforces this custom.
This shows how important childbirth was to the Spartans in that
only women who lost their lives to perpetuate the state were
honoured as heroes.
2emale8shaped "urines represented the understandin of
importance and deep respect for the 5maternal "ure. in Spartan
reliion 0 as the Spartans took up many female ods from Greek
mytholoy.
)t the temple of )thena of the Cronze ,ouse there are numerous
bronze statues of )thena and )phrodite% typifyin the importance of
matriarchal "ures in Spartan reliion.
Lare reliious structures dedicated to women demonstrate the
reverence women received.
There were three ma&or festivals in Sparta7 the Darneia% the
,yakinthia and the Gymnopaedia and in all of which% women were
very reular participants.
)t the ,yakinthia they rode in ceremonial chariots made of reeds%
marched in procession% sun% danced and took part in sacri"ces and
feasts.
)t the Gymnopaedia% they could compete with the males in athletic
competitions to show the superiority of women and their "tness.
3t is clear that the main role of women was to uard the state of
Sparta% manae kleroi and the economy% and ive birth to healthy
sons and surrenderin them to the state and to partake in Spartan
reliion to wish safety and wellbein.
Bibliography
)nti1uity
http7::www.associatedcontent.com:article:EEBFA:theGroleGofGspartan
GwomenGinGancient.htmlHcatI?F
http7::www.associatedcontent.com:article:JFKFFB:theGroleGofGwome
nGinGancientGsparta.htmlHcatI?F
http7::answers.yahoo.com:1uestion:inde4H
1idIBKKLEKBFELJLEJ))G1MTC
http7::www.eocities.com:)thens:)eean:FLJ@:spwomen.html