Spartan Women Vs Athenian Women

Sparta wanted all of their members to be strong, educated, and able to fend for themselves. When considering the women of Sparta, one should associate these traits to them as well. Life in Sparta was better for women compared to life in Athens because the women had more freedom, had a better education, and had more respect in Sparta. Spartan women were seen as the ones to make the citizens’ lives better by taking care of the home, family, and city-states power. The Spartan females certainly had the best lives and most power out of all the other ancient civilizations. Athenian women never had a say in whom they were going to marry, or what age they wanted to wed at. Although Spartan women still did not get to choose who they married, they
were not forced to do so as young as the Athenians did, which was around ages nine to fourteen. When a Spartan woman turned eighteen, she was given a test. If she passed, she was then a Spartan citizen, which allowed her to be eligible for marriage and take part in more events. Spartan women were also given the opportunity to exercise outside with the other males in the city-state, and speaking rights to converse with them. This was unheard of in the other civilizations in Greece, especially Athens. Athenian women were also educated much less than the Spartan women. In Athens, women could only read a very little, if any, while in Sparta women were taught about the arts and had knowledge about music, war, and philosophy. Not only did the Spartan women know these things, but they were also expected to pass their knowledge and facts on to their younger sons and daughters. This was not only just a privilege over Athens, but really over all the other city-states. Most women were not even allowed to participate in the city, let alone be educated as well. The Spartans valued knowledge and wanted the women to know all the different ways of the world. The most important item they focused on was their war knowledge and tactics in battle. Spartan women could then hopefully be able to fend off some man trying to attack her, or maybe a small Helot rebellion. These teachings and knowledge was expected to be passed on to the woman’s children, so the young boys and girls would also be prepared to go to school or learn the ways of the Polis. Because of their jobs and respect to the Polis, the women in the Spartan society were well respected by the people of the Polis in return.
In Sparta, tombstones were only given to two citizens of Sparta, the men who died at battle and the women who died giving childbirth. The females of Sparta had huge roles for the city-state just by getting married and giving birth to the future leaders and soldiers. The Spartan women cooked for the family, just like the Athenian, and took care of the family work with the servants while the men were gone. Athens and Sparta both had citizens that respected that point about the women, because without them cooking and helping, they would only have the slaves to work for them, and the men never knew when there would be a rebellion. Another point that the Spartans were respected for was the capability of seeing over all the servants while safeguarding the family’s property. Without the women there, any one could show up and take over the house if it was not for the education of the Spartan women in war. Then the city-state would not be safe from other civilizations around. In Sparta, women were not allowed to wear makeup or any other enhancements, for they were praised on their natural beauty. The beauty was not just limited to the face, so physical physique was another reason the women were allowed to exercise and play sports with everyone else. The weaving skills of the Spartan women and girls were another prized gift they got to share with their city-state, but even this was different than Athens and the other places around them. For surrounding lands, spinning and weaving fine clothes or rugs was considered a very important skill for without it, there would be no linen or clothing for the family to wear. Often this work was long and difficult because it was very meticulous. Most places just had their servants do the hard parts, and they worked on what was before or next. This is different compared to Sparta,
because Sparta did not care about their items. The quality of the linens and clothes were not a priority, for it does not help them in fighting or in school. Of course Sparta still needed clothes, it was not as big of a deal if the cloths were not perfect. Greek women would have had a better life in Sparta in the ancient world than in Athens. What woman would not want to be respected by their superiors in society, and also who would not want to be appreciated for all the hard work raising children and running the household is with only the help of some servants? Life in Sparta was better for women compared to life in Athens because the women had more freedom, were better educated, and were more respected in Sparta. Spartan women were seen as the ones to make the citizens’ lives better by taking care of the home, family, and city-states power; while Athenian women always had to be quiet in their homes and not allowed to partake in public events. These abilities were important to the Spartan people, for that was what their Polis was founded on; a community of relatives who can be self-sufficient to work for the goals and laws that the Polis demands. Life in Sparta for a women would have given her multiple chances to prove her worth to the Polis, and prove how strong and loyal she was to her city-state.