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Women in Ancient Athens
For much of history, women have had a raw deal when you compare their general lot with men.
This is also the case when we look at the position of women today in many parts of the
world. Ancient Athens was no different.
All women in Athens had a kyrios - a guardian – who was usually her husband or, if she was
unmarried, her closest male relative. The kyrios had a huge amount of control over the woman.
Everyday Life
Rich, respectable women were expected to spend nearly all of their time in the house, leaving it only
for special occasions such as funerals and festivals. However, poor women, whose husbands could not
afford slaves, had to work beside their husbands, go shopping for food and collect water. Some were
forced to work for a living; as midwives, for example. In one way, you could say they were the lucky
ones – at least they weren't cooped up in a house.
This is not to say, of course, that women did not enjoy their lives or did nothing of value. However, the
information we have today from Athenians of the time is overwhelmingly from a male perspective and
portraying men, so we get only a generalized view.
One of Xenophon's works, Oikonomikos, has a man telling his wife her duties, which included
supervising and ordering servants, allocating funds, having clothes made, keeping dried grain fit to
eat and making sure that ill servants received treatment. Poor women, by contrast, would have to look
after the house, bring up children, cook, clean, make clothes, and perhaps help their husbands to
work.
Marriage
Marriage was not formalized in law. It was based on living together and the couple was considered
married from the moment the woman or girl entered her husband's house, which normally took place
when the girl was 14. The man was usually in his late twenties or early thirties. Women also had fewer
rights in the area of adultery. Men were permitted to take mistresses, concubines and to see
prostitutes, whereas a woman was not allowed to have sexual relations with anyone other than her
husband.
Property
Athenians were determined to keep property within the family. The normal state of affairs was for
property to be passed on by will and divided equally among the sons. Women were not normally
allowed to inherit. If a woman had no surviving brothers, she could inherit property as anepikleros.
She would then marry a close male relative who would take charge of the property. If she was already
married, she might be forced to divorce her husband in order to do so. This kept property within the
family.
Women were not allowed to enter into contracts, buy anything expensive or own property. They could
own jeweler, clothes and a personal slave, but that was it.
Male Attitudes Towards Women
Athenian men saw women as weaker than them in all spheres of life – physically, morally, socially and
intellectually. They did not give women rights and considered them corruptible, cunning and
untrustworthy. Women were not allowed in the Athenian democratic assembly. It was not entirely
negative, though. On a more positive note, they also thought of women as the givers of life, which was
obviously a very valued and important role.
Outside Athens
Life for women in other Greek city-states was probably much the same as for Athenian women, with
the exception of those of Sparta. There, women were trained to be strong by competing in athletics
such as javelin, running and wrestling. This was to ensure that they gave birth to strong children who,
if male, would fight for Sparta. Young girls were also forced to strip for religious services, dances and
processions, in order that they did not learn to show off with expensive clothes.
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/dna/place-lancashire/plain/A23428659
The Women of Sparta: Athletic, Educated,
and Outspoken Radicals
The laws of Sparta were developed and written by Lycurgus, a legendary lawmaker who, in the 7th century B.C.
reorganized the political and social structure of the polis, transforming it into a strictly disciplined and collective
society. He also developed the stringent military academy of the agoge, where Spartan boys were trained from
childhood to adulthood. The law reforms of Lycurgus also included certain rules and allowances for Spartan women.
Though these rules made it seem that Spartan women were freer than your averageGreek female, they were actually
implemented in order to ensure that Spartan society progressed as disciplined, powerful, and threatening. Spartan
women were seen as the vehicle by which Sparta constantly advanced.
Unfortunately, there is no real historical documentation that spells out the ways of the women of Sparta. Historians
rely on the accounts of Archaic Greek (7th century) poets and other subsequent Greek historians and literary figures
to piece together the history, and sometimes the mythology, of the lives and culture of Spartan women.
We do know that Spartan women were known for their natural beauty, and that they were forbidden from wearing any
kind of makeup or enhancements. Spartan women were afforded a public education as well. This was very radical other Greek girls were not formally educated. They could not, however, use their education to have careers or earn
money. Their income likely came from land holdings that either they or their families were given through a public land
distribution program. Land ownership for women in the Greek world was certainly unheard of.
As part of a Spartan girl's education, she would have been permitted to exercise outdoors, unclothed, like the Spartan
boys, which was impossible in the rest of the Greek world. Not only would men and women not have been naked in
public together, but a proper Greek woman would not usually set foot out of doors, other than to perhaps collect
water from the cistern! Yet Spartan women not only exercised, they also participated in athletics, competing in events
like footraces.
The allowance of exercise and athletics for Spartan women, though highly looked down upon by the rest of the Greek
world (particularly Athens), was not seen as a freedom per se by the Spartans. It was seen as a guarantee that the
strong and fit Spartan women would reproduce, and when they had babies, those babies would be strong warriors in
the making. For even though Spartan women were allowed to mingle amongst the Spartan men, they were still seen
as little more than baby-makers. Their methods and motives were just slightly different than the rest of the Greeks.
Another freedom that Spartan women had over other Greek women was their ability to fraternize in public with
Spartan men. Along with exercising with the opposite sex came the ability to trade conversation and political
witticisms with them. In fact, Spartan women were notoriously known for their razor-sharp wit and outspoken
natures. This freedom turned heads amongst the other Greeks poleis, and they, of course, disapproved greatly. But if
the physical health of a Spartan woman was seen as vital to her ability to produce strong Spartan boys, then her
mental and intellectual might have been seen as just as important.
When Sparta deteriorated in the 4th century BC, their fall from grace was blamed in part on the inclusion of their
women in public life, their ability to own land, and thus their supposed ability to exert a certain amount of power over
their men. It seems that the general consensus was, if you gave a Greek woman an inch, she would take a mile.
Source: http://www.ancient.eu.com/article/123/
Women in ancient Sparta
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Why are you Spartan women the only ones who can rule
men?"
"Because we are also the only ones who give birth to
men."
—Gorgo, Queen of Sparta and wife of Leonidas, as
quoted by Plutarch[1]
Women in ancient Sparta were famous for their fertility relative to that of other Greek women. In contrast
to Athens, in Spartan society girls were reared much like boys, including physical fitness training.[2]
Sparta’s reputation for “exposing” their children at birth to discover whether or not they suffered from any one of a
number of physical defects (eugenics),[3] and their emphasis on rearing children, particularly boys, with a focus on
war has led many to believe that their society was harshly patriarchal. However, much of the ancient world observed
Sparta with great confusion due to their perceived leniency when governing their female population.[4][5]
This leniency is only in relation to the foreign male authors of the time and historians would be quick to ignore it if
not for the absence of Spartan texts on the subject. Sparta seems to have purposely not recorded its history, and
given that men of the time were disinclined to observe women, particularly those they thought of as acting above
their position, readers must rely on what little information they have pertaining to the women of Sparta.[6]
Dowries also led to confusion over land ownership. Many Spartans believed that brides should be chosen for
character and physical sturdiness rather than economic standing and therefore no formal dowries were given at
marriage. In this way women could become increasingly wealthy inheriting both from their fathers and
husbands.[7] Land transactions were also permitted as gifts.[8]
Marriage
As with inheritance, the practice of marriage is not well enough documented or universal enough to declare a
specific practice amongst all Spartans. A Spartan man was required to marry at the age of 30, just after he
completed Kryteian[10] Still, some men married in their twenties and simply crept away from the barracks at night to
meet their wives. Women married later than most other Greek societies, usually in their late teens and early
twenties. Often marriages were bride-captures prearranged with the father’s consent. In bride-captures, the bride
(dressed by the bridesmaid) was clothed in men’s sandals and cloak and her hair was cut. The groom would then
carry the woman away to have sexual intercourse and return to his barracks before the morning.[11]
Another practice that was mentioned by many visitors to Sparta was the practice of “wife-sharing”. In accordance
with the Spartan belief that breeding should be between the most physically fit parents, many older men allowed
younger, more fit men, to impregnate their wives. Other unmarried or childless men might even request another
man’s wife to bear his children if she had previously been a strong child bearer.[12]
For this reason many considered Spartan women polygamous or polyandrous.[13] This practice was encouraged in
order that women bear as many strong-bodied children as they could. The Spartan population was hard to maintain
due to the constant absence and loss of the men in battle and the intense physical inspection of newborns.[14]
Motherhood and duties
Mothers were essentially the head of the households in Spartan society when fathers were off at war.[15] Sons were
taken from the house at age seven and put through agoge.Daughters also underwent public education, although
girls stayed in their mother’s houses until they were married, around the age of eighteen, and would have developed
an overwhelming bond with their mothers. Women were not expected to learn domestic duties like weaving and
cleaning, as the estate’s helots would perform these tasks. Therefore, women were more preoccupied with
maintaining their physical stature, bearing children, and supervising the helots who worked the land.[2]
At any given moment the Spartan polis would have consisted of predominately women, given that half of the men
were at war. When the men weren’t stationed they were preoccupied with training and remained separated from
their homes leaving the women to completely dominate the household. This is why socially and politically women
had a freedom within the community.[5]
Spartan law codified under Lycurgus expressed the importance of motherhood and child labor to the contribution
of Spartan population. Motherhood and child labor were considered major duties in Spartan society, as equally
compared to the duty of male warrior in Spartan army. Under the Spartan law, women who had died in child birth
and men who died in serving their country both equally deserved the honor of having their names in-scripted on their
gravestones.[16]
Spartan women were highly encouraged to produce many children, preferably male, to increase Sparta's military
population. They took pride in themselves for breeding a brave warrior. Being the mother of a popular warrior was a
high honor for a Spartan woman
Divorce
Spartan women were allowed to divorce their husbands without fear of losing their personal wealth. As equal
citizens of the community, women could divorce and were not required to or discouraged from remarrying. The
unique family unit of Sparta also did not force the woman to relinquish her children, as biological paternity was not
important in raising the children. Boys were already taken into agoge and girls would have felt a strong connection
to the mother.[13]
Youth
“for modesty attended them, and there was no wantonness in their behavior”[18]
Formal education
Female education is vague and rarely mentioned as in a formal class setting, presumably taking place in the home.
It is at least documented that wealthier women wrote letters to their sons and it is therefore assumed that they could
read and write. It is more clearly understood that women studied mousike, which consisted of the arts, music,
dancing, and poetry. Given the Spartan focus on community as a family, it is considered possible that girls were also
taught in a community-run institution that was given equally to all Spartan families.[19]
Physical training
Female Spartan babies are remarked to have been significantly more nourished than other female Greek children
and in some cases than Spartan male babies. Many believe this preference was shown to female babies because it
was especially important to have physically fit women to bear children. In their youth, female Spartans ran around
nude alongside the boys and competed in gymnastics, wrestling, foot and horse races, and other required physical
trials, all in the public’s view.[18][20]
Girls also frequently competed in gymnopaedia, the Spartan festival of naked youths. Women were also known to
compete in the Olympics and other important athletic events, usually wrestling.[18]
Clothing
Spartan women's clothing was simple and notoriously short. Since women did not weave their own clothes and
instead left the creation of goods to the perioikoi, the purchase of elaborate cloth and of metal bracelets was a sign
of wealth. It is unknown whether women wore these silver and gold bracelets at all times or if only for religious
ceremonies and festivals. Women were also not allowed to grow their hair long.[24]

Plutarch, Moralia 225A and 240E

^ Jump up to:a b Blundell 1995, p. 151

Jump up^ Sealey 1976, p. 78

Jump up^ Blundell 1995, p. 150
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^ Jump up to:a b Powell 2001, p. 250

Jump up^ Ducat, Stafford & Shaw 2006, p. 223

Jump up^ Blundell 1995, p. 156

Jump up^ Hodkinson 2000, p. 67

Jump up^ Plutarch & Talbert 2005, p. 187

Jump up^ name=Herodotus

Jump up^ Blundell 1995, pp. 151, 153

Jump up^ Powell 2001, p. 248

^ Jump up to:a b Blundell 1995, p. 154

Jump up^ Powell 2001, p. 246

Jump up^ name= Herodotus

Jump up^ Lerne, Gerda (1986). The Creation of Patriarchy. New York: Oxford University Press.

Jump up^ Pomberoy, Sarah (2002). Spartan Women. Oxford: Oxford University Press.ISBN 0195130677.

^ Jump up to:a b c Blundell 1995, p. 152

Jump up^ Ducat, Stafford & Shaw 2006, pp. 224–225

Jump up^ Hodkinson 2000, pp. 227–228

^ Jump up to:a b Pomeroy, Sarah (2002). Spartan women. Oxford University Press. p. 105.ISBN 978-0-19513067-6.


Jump up^ Powell 2001, p. 249

Jump up^ Pat. "Women in Spartan Society", Arcane History, 2008. Retrieved on 2010-01-21.

Jump up^ Hodkinson 2000, p. 229
Blundell, Sue (1995), Women in ancient Greece, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, ISBN 978-0-674-954731.

Ducat, Jean; Stafford, Emma; Shaw, Pamela-Jane (2006), Spartan Education: Youth and Society in the
Classical Period, Swansea: Classical Press of Wales, ISBN 978-1-905125-07-4.

Hodkinson, Stephen (2000), Property and Wealth in Classical Sparta, London: David Brown Book Co..

Plutarch; Talbert, Richard (2005), Plutarch on Sparta, London: Penguin Books.

Powell, Anton (2001), Athens and Sparta: constructing Greek political and social history from 478 BC,
Lonodon: Routledge,ISBN 978-0-415-26280-4.

Sealey, Raphael (1976), A History of the Greek City States, ca. 700-338 B.C., Berkeley: University of California
Press, ISBN 978-0-520-03177-7.