The cities of Athens and Sparta were both advanced for their time, but differed in their idea of appropriate women’s roles. While Spartan women were relatively important to the social and political spheres, women in Athens were considered nothing more than breeding machines to produce men for the society’s powerful army. Aside from the fact that both groups of women were married for the sole purpose of bearing children, there are hardly any similarities between the treatment of women in Sparta and Athens.…
In the play, Lysistrata, the women of Athens learn of Lysistrata’s plan to withhold sex in an effort to bring her husband back from war. The Athenian women decide to unite and implement Lysistrata’s plan in an effort to regain their own husbands and sons. In Aristophanes’ work he demonstrates his view of women as being cunning and resourceful beings yet at the same time comedic without even trying: The women make meeting to conspire plans, the women make themselves luscious to attract the males of the community, and the women work together as one to achieve a common goal. The Athenian women are seen by the males of the Greek society as stay at home mothers: cooking, cleaning, and offering sex. The stay at home mother is not considered to possess the…
In Athens, life revolved around men. The women were just wives, meant to bare children and tend to home issues (137). Women could not vote or take part in government in either society, but women could own and inherit property in Sparta (122). Overall women had the same responsibilities and household duties in both cultures, but they were permitted more rights in Sparta. In Sparta, men were taken away from home at a very young age and put into government custody, where they would be placed in barracks and trained for the military with very harsh disciplinary acts (122). At the age of 20, they were enlisted into the military, and could marry, but remained living in the barracks until they turned 30. Family was the main focus in Athens, and women were expected to have many children, especially…
Both nationalities had no courting period, and women had little, if any, say as to who they would marry. In Athens, girls were married off at quite an early age, usually at thirteen or fourteen; their husbands were chosen by their fathers, which gave the family the opportunity to join another family, ideally one that was quite prominent in society. The marriage process was very long. Spartan marriage, on the other hand, is quite different; it was an, almost, non-ceremonial event. The female would be abducted in the middle of the night by her future husband, then her head would be shaved and she had to wear men's attire. She would then, finally, meet her husband, mainly for child conception. Any Spartan man could choose a wife in this manner and this led to many wives to a husband and also many husbands to a wife. Both societies main reason for marriage was for procreation. Athenian women would have to take care of their children themselves, usually, while Spartan women wouldn't have to do much as they would, in most cases, have a nurse take care of the child. Sexuality was approached differently in both societies, too – Athenian medical theorists at the time considered women as, psychologically, shameless and uncontrollable; it was the…
Question 1: With reference to source A, what does the evidence reveal about the roles and status of women in Spartan society.…
throughout history women have faced many challenges such as fewer legal rights and career opportunities than men and not being able to own property.Women were long considered weaker than men.Even in times like these some women were given a little more freedom than others. For example in class we learned that spartan women were more dominant in society compared to other women in Greece. Knowing this information it made me think how life was like for spartan women? What they did in their spare time? Since the men spent most of their time in the military I predict that the life of a spartan women will consist of caring for the children as well as providing food for the family.…
Athens and Sparta were two of the most powerful and recognizable ancient city-states in Greek history. These two civilizations showed a majority of differences over similarities, although some similarities showed such as gender relations and slavery. Athenian women had little to no rights in the society, staying mostly indoors and only being referred to as someone’s…
Women in classical Athens, according to many of the accounts of women's position in the Greek city-state, lived a life of domestic slavery. Men controlled politics and societal influence in the public setting, so the lives of women were no different from foreigners or slaves who also had no civil rights. The lives of women in classical Athens greatly contrasts the lives of women in America today; however both share similar family obligations. While the obvious differences are that women didn't hold political office, didn't own property, and women didn't work outside the home, similar to women in America today, women were the primary caretakers of the home.…
In the world people put other people into categories. This happens especially with women, some of the categories that people use today are: beautiful, ugly, good, bad, innocent, whore, loyal, and unloyal, those are just a few. In Homer’s The Odyssey you see that there are different roles and types of women. I will prove that there are 5 main roles assigned to women: the good wife, the bad wife, the goddess, the monster, and the seducer, and these many times are related to each other.…
“Men are free to roam outside, but the women must stay inside.” (Unknown Athenian), this was true for most of human history, and Ancient Athens was no different. However in Ancient Sparta it was much different from the rest of Greece, and for that matter a majority of civilizations. Usually when people think of Athens they think of the Golden Age of Athens (480-322 B.C.) and think that men and women are prospering throughout Attica and it was more like the Roaring 20s of the 20th Century. And when people think of Sparta they see a society hell bent of taking over Athens and crush anyone who stands in their way. In either case nobody really takes much time to ask what were the women doing during this time period…
According to many historians such as Powell “The citizen women of Sparta were believed to lead unusual lives by Greek standards.” As stated by Lycurgus in the Great Rhetra women of Sparta were aware of their role in society in regards to staying healthy and fit to produce healthy offspring as well as partaking in the running of the economy. Women in Sparta were treated with the utmost respect, as they were an essential element in the ancient warrior society. Spartan women enjoyed much more freedom then women from the other polis (Greek city states). Spartan women were given great privileges as they involved their prominent positions in society in regards to education, family, religion and the economy, which soon became desired by women all…
Each of the sources suggests certain aspects about the roles that women played in Ancient Greek society. Three things it suggests about women are that not all women were of the same social status, women were generally used as slaves or laborers, but were still a vital part to Grecian society.…
Women of that time in other cultures were treated like their father’s/husband’s property. That was the case all around the world, from China to Medieval Europe, to Rome. Women had no rights other than to maintain the house hold and bear children. Greece was a sight exception in this regard. Women who held higher positions in the society had quite independent lives, along with sixth century Spartan women; however, Athenian women did not share the same liberties as their neighbors. Athenian women rarely left their homes, but when they did, it was for religious purposes or festivals. Aristotle best summed up the role of Athenian women with a quote which basically says the woman in meant to bear children and maintain a home. Women were not completely…
The common view in ancient societies was often that this was a world of men; that women were inferior. There is often debate on the role of women in society, but in reality, women play an important role in any type of society, whether it be good or bad. Women in ancient Greece, China, and the Roman Empire were able to exercise influence into their culture despite the discrimination toward them. Although each society was different, women shared similar influences in their power, and restrictions in the aspect of marriage. Although most of these ancient cultures viewed women similarly, of these three locations, the women in the Roman Empire had it best.…
The treatment and stigma towards women is constantly evolving. It varies from country to country, and it changing even today. As war driven cultures started to take over, freedom and respect for women decreased in ancient societies. Their freedom, rights, and societal status were ever changing in history. For this paper, the focus will be on the Ancient Minoa, Classical Athens, and the Roman Empire.…