Ancient Sparta. This topic I studied in High School as part of my two years of senior classes. Outside of the Julio-Claudian period in Rome, I also deliberated over the women of Sparta. It was a fascinating topic I always remembered and wished I had spent more time on. I loved it. Since I started the Agrippina Files a few weeks back; this is an excellent topic as it tells us a lot about the era.
Spartan women were the original badasses of the ancient world. According to the World History Encyclopedia, these ladies had more freedom than those in Athens. However, they were treated as second-class citizens and were reduced to doing homemaker chores and bearing children.
This is just an overview, but I want to do a deeper look into this at a later date.
Aristotle Wasn’t A Fan Of The Way The Women Of Sparta Did Things
Aristotle, a famed Greek Philosopher, spent most of his adult years in Athens and criticised Spartan women. He claimed in one of his writings called “Politics” that the freedom of Spartan women was what bought Sparta to its knees. Though he did praise the Athenian women, despite them having only one role in life, and that was to raise the next generation.
If Aristotle wanted someone to blame, perhaps he should’ve taken it out on King Lycurgus, as he was the one who allowed the people of Sparta to be seen as equals.
Women And Marriage
Women were trained from a young age to prepare for their role; childbirth and motherhood. They were allowed to take on lovers outside of the marriage, as all sex was used for was for pleasure and for conceiving children. They could also be in same-sex relationships if they chose.
Marriage for a Sparta woman entitled their hair to be clipped short to resemble a man, and they were to dress in male clothing. They lay on a mattress in a dark room where the groom would come in, do his bit, and leave. There wasn’t anything formal about the nuptials. The reason for this was because the sexual experiences most men had were in the army with other men.
Training That Was Similar To The Men
Women were trained similarly to men but did not do combat training. Instead, their mothers educated girls at home while the boys were taught at school. What’s surprising is that the women of Sparta ran the house and did everything usually designated to what Athenian men would’ve done.
Women in Sparta were heavily involved in politics and were allowed a social life. This was something their Athenian counterparts weren’t allowed to partake in.
I remember two short stories from my Ancient Sparta lessons. One was that a mother became infuriated when her son fled the army. She picked up a roof tile and threw it at him, killing him instantly. The second story is about a mother who was told all her sons had been killed in battle. When asked why she wasn’t upset, she said she was proud that her boys had died defending their city-state. As sad as that is, it shows that these women were total badasses and should be seen as being founders of true female empowerment.
