Women in Ancient Sparta and Athens
Women in ancient times may have typically been perceived as submissive, contributing to the idea that a woman’s single role was to bear and nurture children. However around 450-200 BC, this mindset was both challenged and demonstrated by the independent Greek city-states, also known as the poleis. The women of Sparta were strong willed and seen as dominant members of their families and society (cite). Revolutionary in their treatment towards women at the time, Sparta was known for independent women with a general sense of freedom. Compared to their Spartan sisters, Athenian women fit the description of the classic, submissive, mother of the household who lacked power both socially and politically in their society. Plato was one of the first notable advocates for women’s rights in Athens, fighting for a woman’s right to education. Throughout history, the role of women has been dynamic, especially in the ancient Greece poleis; however Sparta and Athens are perhaps the two most peculiar cases. Comparing and analyzing the different roles Spartan and Athenian women face socially, politically, and in society as a whole will demonstrate the uniqueness and independence of both Sparta and Athens, as well as lay the foundation for these women in future generations.
Before discussing the peculiar role of women in Sparta, the general ideals of Sparta must be explained. The way that the Spartan polis was ran was completely independent of neighboring city-states; while the poleis shared the commonality of being Greek, they differed in almost every other aspect past that. An assembly of citizens governed each polis. The citizens that were allowed to participate enjoyed freedom of speech, the right to attend and make proposals in assembly, the right to debate in assembly, and the right to vote. However in Sparta, only non-alien, male hoplites were allowed to participate. This means that men who could afford hoplite armor, had successfully served in the military, and were originally from Sparta held the political power. Because of the requirements to be a part of the assembly in Sparta, it was known as an oligarchy, or a polis that is ruled by the few; only about 10% of the population had political rights. Sparta was a polis that prioritized military before subjects such as philosophy, the arts, literature, etc. Around the age of 7, male children left home to train towards becoming an elite soldier. It is important to understand that Sparta was a politique-like city-state, meaning that the success and well being of the nation was put above anything else. Because of this, men left the house to train future generations and further their own fighting skills, leaving women to be the leaders of the household. It is notable to mention that men typically ate with around 30 other men for dinner, while the women would eat with their children in the household (Raphael).
This independence for Spartan women starts early on; women were sent off to marry at 18, much older than women in other Greek poleis. (Pomeroy). The reason this is significant is because with the additional years before marriage, the young Spartan women had more time to become emotionally independent and give birth to healthier children. Additionally, because marriage wasn’t a familial companionship in Sparta, women were pre-disposed to relying on themselves and their leadership in both their marriages and while raising children. Possibly because of their role at home, women had the right to own property and owned more than 1/3 of Sparta’s land (Blundwell). Respected philosophers at the time such as Plato, Aristotle, and Plutarch even noted that Spartan women had far too much power; Plutarch once stated that “the men of Sparta always obeyed their wives” which is a revolutionary idea in the ancient world (Plutarch). Finally one of the last and most notable points to make for Spartan women was the fact that they were not condemned by society for promiscuity. Women wore their tunic’s with a bit of thigh and plenty leg showing, far more than their Greek sisters in the neighboring poleis. Additionally, women were allowed to compete in athletic events and competed in the nude, with both men and women spectators (Pomeroy). It is safe to say that the women of Sparta were not your typical ancient women; they enjoyed their relative freedom and independence. Both Spartan men and women found the bearing of Sparta’s future fighters and heroes honorable.
Similar to Sparta, citizens in Athens’s assembly enjoyed political rights. However, Athens was more tolerant of the citizens they allowed in the assembly; all male citizens had political rights and were therefore encouraged to speak their minds in the assembly. This type of government was called a democracy, which was more inclusive, however only about 20% of all Athenian citizens had political rights (Gould). Democracies in the Greek poleis were rare due to the fact that it allowed all male citizens regardless of social status to have an input in the political decisions made. While the requirements for Athenian citizenship started to include an Athenian-born mother in 451BC, this still prevented women in Athens to contribute directly to the political system (Gould). Athenian women were sent off to marry and reproduce at a fairly young age at about 14 years old to men significantly older than them, mainly because women in Athens were not valued too much past their ability to reproduce and maintain the house. In fact, in many cases it was seen as shameful for women to leave the house and work (Carey). Thucydides once stated, "great honour is hers, whose reputation among males is least, whether for praise or blame", meaning that the ideal Athenian women would be one whose name no one has heard of (Thucydides). If a woman were rich, this mindset would be carried out much more affectively because they would have poor women to do the common labor. In a sense, this established the idea that the less notable a woman was in Athenian society, the more wealthy the woman was. Therefor it was more favorable to Athenian women to not fight for their rights and to conform to the norms of society. In the case of childbirth, the inability to produce a male child was seen as the fault of the women and infanticide rates were around 25%, with the majority of the cases being female babies (Pomeroy). While women were required to give a dowry, which is property or money given to the husband’s side of the family, both husband and wife were legally allowed to initiate a divorce. In the case of divorce, the man would be required to return the dowry and raise the children.
Perhaps the only strides women were given in Athens were in the case of religion and in education. The author of “Rape and Adultery in Athenian Law” The Classical Quarterly The Class noted "[Religion is the] only area of Greek life in which a woman could approach anything like the influence of a man", mainly because of the high standing that the priestess of Athena held. The priestess of Athena was notable because she was in a position of authority over both men and women; whoever was appointed the priestess of Athena held significant political power and had the ability to sway the decision of the assembly (Carey). In regards towards education, typically only the men of Athens were allowed to become educated, most likely because of the importance Athens placed on education, philosophy, and the arts. However a great philosopher of ancient Greece, Plato, challenged the norm with his piece The Republic. He once said, “…[In regards to fitness] this does not amount to a proof that a woman differs from a man in respect of the sort of education she should receive; and we shall therefore continue to maintain that our guardians and their wives ought to have the same pursuits” (Plato). In this quote, and in the entire passage, Plato is advocating for a woman’s right to education. This is revolutionary beca
use Athens was a polis where women were seen as the subordinate gender, yet a respected and notable philosopher was challenging the perspective of almost every other person in Athens. In fact, two women studied at the Platonic Academy, an academy established by Plato in 387 BC (Gould). Athenian women enjoyed the amount of rights as women in the majority of the other polies, which was not very many. However this was a norm established in ancient times and therefore was not challenged by women.
It is quite clear to see that women in the two poleis had very different roles in society. Yet, it seems that most of the poleis and most of the ancient world gave their women the same treatment of Athenian women. So the question remains, why do the Spartan and Athenian women live in such different worlds? The main reason for the dominance of Spartan women lies in the stark contrast in norms, starting young. The mere fact that women were allowed to be educated and compete in athletic competitions placed the Spartan women centuries ahead of women around the world. This is because the women are given equal opportunities to learn and educate themselves as well as compete amongst each other and with other men as well. Not only were they allowed to be educated and compete, but it was also encouraged by Spartan society. The Spartan community was one that fostered a love for competition and craved superiority over the other poleis. Another important difference between the two societies was that women in Sparta owned a third of the land and were basically the leading figure in their household. This difference mainly roots from the differences in Spartan and Athenian society. Because Spartan men are rarely home and are instead furthering their fighting skills, this gives the woman the authority of the land and of their children. The difference also stems into their idea of marriage. Athenian marriages contained a much larger age gap than Spartan marriages, which led to more male authority in marriages in Athens. Additionally, Spartan marriages were not for love and rarely for companionship, they were purely for reproduction and for creating future heroes, which was understood between both parties. In fact, women were often embarrassed by a husband or by a son who was not successful militarily. In Athens, men spent their time at home outside of work and assembly meetings, so they were the authority figure over their wives. Finally, the fact that the male children of Sparta left home at the age of 7 to train for the military really established a system of separate spheres in society. Spartan women were in control of many aspects of society, besides the military. Athenian women were truly seen as subordinate in every aspect to men. These separate worlds that Spartan and Athenian women lived in set the foundation for the women in future generations.
Essentially it comes down to the natures of the two societies. While both poleis were Greek and shared a common religion and language, they differed entirely in almost every other aspect. The heavy military focus compared to the heavy focus on liberal arts and philosophy was what really separates these two societies. Because Spartan women were placed in a strict and prideful environment, they took on the persona of dominance. They did not like instruction on what to do nor did they accept it in many aspects of society. However the women of Athens were placed in an environment of male superiority in every aspect. Athenian men were stronger, smarter, and more capable; women were encouraged to stay quiet and proper. However in the scope of world history, it is fairly new that women are able to educate and speak freely. In certain societies today, women are not given the same liberty that Spartan women were given over two thousand years ago, which goes to show how revolutionary and unique this contrast truly was between the two poleis.