Download Women in Sparta – packages of information 1. The role and

Women in Sparta – packages of information
1. The role and education of women:
 We have relatively little reliable information on the place of women in Sparta. One
reason is that none of the sources from the period are Spartan, as the Spartans kept few
written records. Another is that the sources we do have are male, with little interest in
the lives of women. A final reason is that some of these sources are critical of the
relative freedom Spartan women enjoyed.
 The main role of a Spartan woman was to bear and raise children. Those children did
not belong to the family, but to the state. Boys were subjected to infanticide (murder) if
they did not measure up to the state’s ideal of what a male baby should be. We do not
know if the same occurred with girls, but the general consensus is that it did not.
 While boys were removed from their mother’s care at the age of seven, Spartan girls
were not. They continued to live at home, but their education was the responsibility of
the state. As with boys, girls were taught the basics of reading and writing. They were
also taught music, dance, singing, poetry and riding. More importantly, Spartan girls
were subjected to a rigorous exercise regime, rendering them fit like their male
counterparts. The reason for this was that the state believed girls needed to be strong
and healthy if they were to produce healthy babies. (This contrasted markedly with
Athens, where girls were given less food than boys.) The state also believed girls needed
a rounded education if they were to be good mothers.
2. Marriage:
 Although the sources are sketchy on the subject of marriage, it appears that Spartiates
married in their mid-twenties. Plutarch tells us that Spartan women married “when they
were ripe for it”, which probably means when they were in their late teens. This is in
contrast to Athenian women, who married at just 14.
 Marriages in Sparta were arranged by the woman’s male guardian, but mothers appear
to have had some influence over the decision as well. The putative groom would
approach the guardian with a proposal of marriage, and the latter would decide
whether or not to accept. Unlike in Athens, there was no law prohibiting the would-be
bride from objecting if she did not fancy the man seeking her hand.
 Marriage was compulsory for Spartiates, though they were not allowed to live with their
wives till they reached the age of 30. Before that, they had to sneak away from the
syssitia (barracks) in order to have sex with their wives. Once the ‘deed’ was done, they
would return to the barracks before anyone noticed they were gone.
 On her wedding night, a Spartan woman had her hair cut short and dressed in male
clothing. We do not know the reason for this custom.
 Divorce was relatively easy in Sparta, especially if no children were produced by the
marriage. The state was interested in procuring as many healthy boys as possible (to
replace those killed in battle), so encouraged couples to go their separate ways if they
were childless. Another option for men who were married but childless was to sire a
child via another man’s wife. This was perfectly acceptable, as Sparta had no prohibition
on adultery. It was also acceptable for older men to get a younger man to impregnate
their wives, if they were no longer capable of doing so themselves.
 Spartan women did not have to give up their property or children when they divorced.

The wife of a Spartiate could lead a life of relative ease, as helots would undertake most
of the household duties. She could devote herself to running the estate and pursuing
various leisure activities.
3. Land ownership and inheritance:
 Most land in Sparta was owned by aristocratic families, who kept control of it down the
generations by intermarriage.
 The land was also mostly owned by men, although by the end of the Classical period
women could also own and inherit it. Usually, they inherited less land than their
brothers, but not significantly less. Aristotle tells us that by the end of the Classical
period women owned 40 percent of all the land in Sparta.
 Even where women did not own land, they exercised considerable control over their
family estates, as their husbands spent a lot of time training or away on campaign.
 The social position of Spartan women differs markedly from women in Athens, who
were regarded as little more than chattel.
4. Appearance and dress:
 Spartan women wore a short tunic called the peplos. It was cut at the sides, allowing
freedom of movement. This also exposed the women’s thighs. For this reason, Spartan
women gained a reputation for licentiousness in other parts of Greece.
 Women in Sparta were also banned from wearing makeup, jewellery or perfume, and
from dyeing their clothes. The law required that they dress very simply.
 Unmarried women could wear their hair long, but married women had to cut it short.
5. Religion:
 Very little is known about the religious role of women in Sparta. What we do know is
that women made sacrifices to the goddess Artemis Orthia, whose cult was central to
life in Sparta. Other cults of importance to women included that of Eileithyia, the
goddess of childbirth, and that of Helen, who was famous for her role in the Trojan War.
 We also know that women performed special religious dances at festivals.
 We know next to nothing about how women were buried.