Transcript Spartan Women

Spartan Women
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dq6hCyybjTw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tH1FzD1YY8
Spartan vs Athenian
Women: Differences
 Spartan women spent much
time outdoors and exercised
nude in public, like men
 Spartan women were
spirited and it was a virtue
for a woman to be witty and
hold her own in public

Spartan women under
certain circumstances might
be allowed to sleep with
other men except their
husbands for the birth of
children
 Athenian women were never
seen naked in public, and
should not be seen in public
unaccompanied; they did not
go to the gym.
 Athenian women were not
meant to be conversing with
strange men, and meekness
was seen as a virtue
 In Athens adultery was one
of the most serious crimes,
and the law ordered
mandatory divorce for a
woman who slept with
anyone except her husband.
Athenian and Spartan
Women: Common points
 They were citizens, and could give birth to citizens, but did
not join the army, did not vote, and did not run for office,
except for priesthoods and other religious offices.
 They were expected to get married and run a household, when
their husband would be focusing on outdoor duties
 They were expected to comply with contemporary standards
of respectability (even though this meant different things from
city to city).
 Outdoor work was not desirable for either Athenian or
Spartan women, but while Spartan women did not work
outdoors, Athenian women compelled by poverty and
necessity frequently worked outside the house.
A high birthrate?
 Sparta actively tried to encourage a higher birth-rate
and allowed women to have children with men
other than their husbands, if necessary, and also
encouraged the physical sexuality of its women, as
this would be conducive to more children. Women’s
physical exercise was also viewed as a necessary
component for the birth of stronger, healthier
children.
 However, these attempts of the state were
sabotaged by the archaic economic system of Sparta
which effectively discouraged larger families.
Property ownership
 The rhetra of Epitadeus (5th c.) made it possible for
fathers to leave their property to their daughters through
a will.
 As a result, much of the land was owned by women a
hundred years later, thus reducing the number of men
landowners, and consequently the number of full
Spartan citizens (as landownership was tied to full
citizenship).
 The unusal freedom of Spartan women with property
matters, as well as the cultivation of an athletic physique
and visible sexuality intrigued and often scandalized the
rest of the Greeks.
Exceptional Spartan
women
 Gorgo: the sharp-minded queen of Leonidas, to
whom several witticisms were attributed.
 Cynisca: the sister of king Agesilaos. She was
wealthy in her own right, and the first woman to
win the Olympic games.
 Euryleonis, also a wealthy woman, and possibly a
princess was able to win the Olympic Games some
time after Cynisca.