Athens and Sparta were the two most renowned city-states of the ancient Greek world; however their political systems were completely different. Athenian society is known for its democracy, prominent scholars, and its vast commerce with other Greek city-states and cities of the Mediterranean. Meanwhile, Spartan society was an alienated monarchy in which prevailed conformism and stability. What is more, Spartans established the helot system with the purpose of its population being free from labor, so they could create a militaristic society.
As a result of the distinct political systems of Athens and Sparta, Athenian women and Spartan women lived divergent lives. It is necessary to point out that women of the ancient Greek world did not have the same impact and influence as women have in present-day society. The main goal of an ancient Greek woman was to give birth to sons.
Athenian Women
Athenian women had the status of citizens and were able to pass this privilege to their children. However, the most important moment in the life of Athenian women was day of their marriage. The marriage ritual consisted in men, ten to fifteen years older than women just past their puberty, taking their newlywed wife to the family’s home, where the girl was welcomed by the mother-in-law, and then the couple retired in order to proceed with the marriage’s consummation. The status of the wife improved in the house only if she gave birth to a son. Marriages in which the women remained childless could be annulled, although Athenian women did have the right to file for divorce if their husband’s behavior was very inadequate.
Charles Freeman, in Egypt, Greece and Rome: Civilizations of the Ancient Mediterranean, “women, unlike men, entered a form of exile when they married.” Love was not an essential factor in ancient marriages and these were determined by families that knew each other. In other words, marriages functioned as a convenience that preserved kinship, and family’s inheritance. This is evidenced by the fact that the bride’s family had to bestow the bridegroom with a dowry that passed to his control. Marriage agreements consolidated between families in this way. Also, each Athenian woman had her own kyrios, meaning a protector who was either her husband or a male relative. Athenian women’s property consisted only in their immediate possessions, such as clothes and jewelry. The kyrios was in charge of the rest of the woman’s possessions until her sons inherited these. Moreover, women had to remain most of the time inside their homes in the rooms reserved only for them, and where it was banned the entrance to males that were not relatives.
It is acknowledged that Athenian women lived a secluded life but they did have a space to participate in society. An example is that only women celebrated The Thesmophoria, which was one of the most famous Greek festivals. This festival lasted three days and women went on to sanctuary lost to the view of men. Women had to practice abstinence before the beginning of the festivities despite that The Thesmophoria exalted the significance of fertility. Haloa and Skira were other women’s festivals but these celebrated the success of agriculture.
Spartan Women
Contrarily to the Athenian women’s secluded style of life, Spartan women were distinguished all over the Greek world for their freedom. The marriage of Spartan women was quite different from that of Athenian women. Spartan men were constantly in military trainings or at war since Sparta was a militaristic base society. This granted Spartan women much more power over the household than other women had in other city-states, such as Athens. Men could not live in their households until thirty years of age, even if married. They were only allowed to make surprise nightly visits to their wives.
Spartan women, unlike Athenian women, did own property, which was alarming to the rest of the Greek city-states. A scandalized Aristotle wrote, in his Politics, Book 2, that “nearly two-fifths of the whole country are held by women.” Thomas R. Martin argues, in Ancient Greece: From Prehistoric to Hellenistic Times, that women in Sparta possessed this relative huge amount of land because it seems that they inherited, at the moment of marriage, one-half of the portions of land and property that their bothers would get after the death of their father. Furthermore, the male population in Sparta continually decreased due to casualties in wars. This translated into women acquiring more land after the deaths of their husbands, particularly during the Classical Age.
Although Spartan women enjoyed a life with more freedoms than their counterparts in other Greek city-states, still their main significance in society was the bearing of sons. Indeed, it was of the most urgency for women to give birth to baby boys as Sparta always needed future soldiers for war. For that reason, the helot system used in Sparta permitted women to have free time from labor. Women had to exercise during their free time with the principal objective of maintaining healthy and fit bodies for the bearing of children. Moreover, Spartan women exercised along men and even did it with little clothes on or naked. It is not a surprise that Greeks from other city-states, such as Aristotle, thought that Spartan laws over women were outrageous.
Sources:
Aristotle, Aristotle: Spartan Women. In Ancient History Sourcebook: Aristotle: Spartan Women. The source of this excerpt according to this site is Aristotle, The Politics of Aristotle, Book 2, trans. Benjamin Jowett (London: Colonial Press, 1900).
Charles Freeman, Egypt, Greece and Rome: Civilizations of the Ancient Mediterranean. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004).
Jackson J. Spielvogel, Civilizaciones de Occidente, Vol. A, Tercera edición. (México: Thompson Editores, 1997).
Thomas R. Martin, Ancient Greece: From Prehistoric to Hellenistic Times. New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 1996).
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