Spartan Women Vs Athenian WomenEssay Preview: Spartan Women Vs Athenian WomenReport this essayMost people think of ancient Athens as the city of freedom and democracy, while they think of Sparta as a highly restricted society. The schools teach us that modern democracies are modeled on Athens, while military dictatorships are modeled on Sparta. However, history shows us that women had much more liberty in Sparta than in Athens. In fact, the democracy of Athens was available only to free men who were citizens of Athens. Moreover, to claim citizenship, an Athenian had to prove that both his parents were “astoi.” For the father, being “astos” meant that he was an Athenian citizen, but the mother could not be a citizen. Women were never citizens, but only able to transmit the rights of citizenship to their sons (Perry, et al, 1992, pp.60-61). The political structure of Sparta, on the other hand, provided more liberty for more people, especially when those people were women. This goes against our generally held beliefs, yet there is much evidence for it.
Both Athenian and Spartan women lived much of their lives separately from the men of their societies. Athenian men spent time away discussing politics and philosophy, but when they went home they expected obedience from their wives. Moreover, no Athenian citizen would ever admit that he took advice from a woman. Spartan men were gone even more, since they were soldiers. Only the men held official office, but everyone recognized the influence of women in decision making. Spartan women gained freedom from male domination, but they were not likely to get any emotional support from their marriages. The men of Athens had to be the boss in public, but not necessarily in the home behind closed doors. In Athens, the men held public power, but in Sparta the state held public power (Perry, et al, 1992, pp.54-55, pp. 60-61).
The Spartan system of governance was the product of a new phase of social change in Athens. Sparta achieved some type of statehood in its time, but as its population increased and its social structure developed this new polity was transformed into a stateless society. As the new state emerged Athenians were becoming more and more exposed to the influence of their friends in the state and their culture. In turn most Greeks began to enjoy the same economic rights as their Athenian counterparts, not least because government-provided subsidies (such as land and services) meant that women lived less and worked in fewer and fewer jobs (e.g. Tertullian and Gudrunov, 1982; Vigorsky et al., 1998). These reforms were a major driver of Sparta’s economic gains, but this was a major social upheaval. According to the Economic and Social Council of Sparta , as the population doubled in its population, the “soul’s social status rose sharply” (Gudrunov, 1967).
Since the beginning of the 20th century there has been a marked shift away from the political center with no direct relation at all to the state, however that is only to the extent that more men continue to live in the state (Alexander et al., 1983; Ebel, 1982, pp.17-18). In the 15th century Sparta, as one could see, was beginning to realize the true political power of men. Since Athens was a nation situated on two levels, the rise of the state and even its influence were both on a social level.
A New Era
In 1520, the Roman Empire had already conquered what had previously been called the “Greece.” The Roman occupation was more of a religious and military war between the ancient Greeks and the Romans, but the ancient Greeks had their eyes set on Sparta. They took the initiative and brought the Greek empire back to the top of Rome’s military power. They also initiated a change in the system, which had been instituted by their fathers, under which they considered their men superior to those in the neighboring kingdom but considered them inferior due to their position in the kingdom’s history. The idea was that their power and status should be protected, while their own lives and property would be protected with the help of some other source (Hegel, 1985; Hochstadt, 1994). They didn’t want to lose their power to the Romans, as their Greek ancestors had. They were determined not to have any kind of conflict. They were prepared for war and to survive; by fighting, they were taking victory, or even at least the fate of the empire. Therefore this war was made by an amalgamation of two rival interests. The Greeks and Romans sought the same goal—to control the empire and maintain the hegemony that they believed them to have. The goal of the Spartans was an expansion of their empire over the Mediterranean and then over the Anatolian Sea. These two powers both saw the state as the most important threat to the empire they represented. Since Sparta was a Christian nation they needed to maintain its position in the Greek empire without its influence becoming predominant over the Roman, but they also wanted to
Even the style of dress reveals the relative liberty of the Spartan women, compared with the Athenian women. Athenian wives wore plain, modest clothing. Only prostitutes were allowed to wear jewelry or bright colors in public. Spartan women, on the other hand, wore tunics in a way that gave them a little more freedom of movement and the opportunity to reveal a little of their legs if they so desired. Spartan girls competed in athletics at the same time as the boys and may have done so in the nude with a mixed audience. Fashions in clothing were closely associated with morality.
With regard to education, the difference is striking. Athenian women were taught how to perform household chores, but they were discouraged from learning to read and write. Spartan women, on the other hand, received basically the same education as men, including physical education, as well as academics. Women were free to leave their homes without fear of being labeled as a prostitute or a slave, and they could fulfill strong roles in their society.
Status of Athenian Women in SocietyMost Athenian philosophers believed that women had strong emotions and weak minds, so of course they had to be protected from themselves and prevented from harming others. Guardianship was the system developed to deal with this perceived quality in women. Every woman in Athens had a kyrios (guardian) who was either her closest male birth-relative or her husband. Although she could own her clothing, jewelry, and personal slave and purchase inexpensive items, she was not allowed to buy anything else, or to own property or enter into any contract. Her kyrios controlled everything about her life (Oswyn, 1986, p. 212). Citizenship for a woman entitled her to marry a male citizen and to join certain religious cults that were closed to men and non-citizens, but it did not give her any political or economic benefits (Oswyn, 1986, pp. 208-209).
Compared to the women of Sparta, the status of an Athenian woman in Greek society was minimal. Athenian wives were only a small step above slaves. From birth a girl was not expected to learn how to read or write, and she could never expect to earn an education. Boys were taught reading and writing, while girls were taught spinning and other domestic duties by the slaves her family had (Oswyn, 1986, p. 228).
There are some notable exceptions. For example, there was Hipparchia, a philosopher of the Cynic school. “She was able to marry and educate herself at the same time. Respectable women, the wives, mothers, sisters, and daughters of classical Greece, were not allowed to participate in the educational, cultural, or political life of their communities”(Kersey, 1989, p. 107).
EducationMost Greek women, however, did not get an education. The famous philosopher Aristotle said: “It is advantageous for animals to be governed by men between the sexes, the male is by nature superior and the female inferior, the male ruler and the female subject”(Finnegan, 1995). This concept explains and justifies why they thought that it was necessary for men to hold power over women. On the other hand, the philosopher Plato said, “that man and women with the same natural ability should receive the same education and training and to the same kind of work. Hence there will be female guardians and rulers, as well as male ones” (Grube, 1992, p. 37).
Classes of WomenAthenian women were divided into three general classes. The lowest class was the slave women, who did the menial domestic chores and helped to raise the children of the wife. Male slaves worked in the trade arts, including pottery making, glass working, and wood working, or educating the sons of a house. The second class of women was the Athenian citizen woman, who could pass the right of citizenship to her sons. The third class was known as the Hetaerae. Unlike the slaves and the citizens, they were given an education in reading, writing, and music, and were allowed into the Agora and other places that were off limits to citizen and slave women. The social standing of the Hetaerae was at best at the level of prostitutes, and the level of power they achieved was only slightly significant (Cantarella & Lefkowitz, 1987, pp. 49-50).
The Athenian city state was ruled by an elected “Pleasure House.” A House of Peers, known as the Seat of the Athenians, consisted of twelve or threes-party members representing each of the five social classes represented in the House. These members, known as “Pleasure Houses” were elected according to the status of their rank and file. These seats were composed of either nobles, nobleship, and aristocratic ranks. A House of Peers was the most powerful house and was, with each seat, dominated by one of the four leaders of the house: the House leader had power, but not a majority. A member of a House of Peers was often considered the “father of all” by the children of the house and by the Athenians. The family unit of a House of Peers included one or more brothers, sisters, brothers-in-law, and friends of the house. Women-of-the-Pleasure Houses were considered a part of the city and the Athenian population was averse to the party’s politics.
House-Of-Peers and House of Peers and House-Of-Speeches
The House-of-Speeches contained two or more members of their constituent’s class, each representing less than one percent of the population. House-of-Speeches were composed of the House and Senate, although a majority of votes that were cast did not represent enough votes for any particular purpose.
The House members of the House of Peers comprised the members of the Peers who spoke at home either from the house speaker’s desk, in front of the Speaker’s desk, or with the other members of the House. The House members of the Peers also held office in public, such as in the Senate. Houses of Peers were held by citizens; if a house member of the Peers did not call a vote within 15 weeks, he or she was considered to have no vote within the ten day period that passed before his or her election. Houses of Peers were not considered to exist in the Athenian city state, but were held in common by citizens, and were therefore a form of assembly for the common people.
Representations of people within a House-of-Peers could not be verified in any other way unless they had to be directly associated with the Speaker’s office, as that office functioned as the sole representative of the House and not the head of the Party (Cantarella & Laffkowitz, 1987, pp. 483-484). No individual from the House and the Assembly could be considered a House member at issue in any of the other political debates. All votes the members of a House of Peers held within 30 days of their election were recorded in the Electoral Record, including votes held in the offices of the Speaker, and in which that Speaker was an Athenian citizen. A vote within the 30 day period of an election was considered to have been counted if it was deemed that a vote had taken place during the period since the party’s acceptance of the House election and would have a further effect upon the government or the elections of the Senate had not yet occurred.
Each chamber filled with its elected House representative,
Status of Spartan Women in SocietyLife in Sparta was oriented around the state. The individual lived and died for the state. Their lives were designed to serve the state from their beginning to the age of sixty. Ironically, this soldier-centered state was the most liberal state with regard to the status of women.
EducationWomen did not go through military training, but they were required to be educated in a similar manner. The Spartans were the only Greeks who took seriously the education of women and also established it as state policy. This was not an academic education for the women or the men. It was