What was life like for a Spartan woman?

Because Spartan men were totally devoted to military matters, Spartan women were expected to oversee all other aspects of life. Life as a female Spartan meant a life devoted to producing and raising children (to the age of seven), running households and managing business affairs. Only strong children were raised.

What was it like to grow up as a girl in Sparta?

Unlike the other Greek city-states, Sparta provided training for girls that went beyond the domestic arts. The girls were not forced to leave home, but otherwise their training was similar to that of the boys. They too learned to run, jump, throw the javelin, gymnastics and discus.

How were boys and girls treated in Sparta?

Spartan girls were allowed to remain with their parents, but they were also subjected to a rigorous education and training program. While boys were readied for a life on campaign, girls practiced dance, gymnastics and javelin and discus throwing, which were thought to make them physically strong for motherhood.

Was Sparta a matriarchy?

Bond | Medium. I often hear that if women had more power,then there would be less war. Sparta was not a matriarchy. It was ruled by two male kings.

How did Spartans marry?

Spartan marriage lacked the ceremony of Athens. Spartan women would be willfully captured and dressed as a man, also having her hair shaved as a man would. In this attire the bride would be laid alone in the dark where a sober groom would sneak in, remove her belt, and carry her to bed.

Spartan Women - What was it like to be a woman in ancient Sparta?

How did Sparta treat girls?

The female Spartan was honored as the equal of the male in her own sphere of power and authority and, even in the accounts of detractors, performed admirably. It could be argued, in fact, that the strength of the Spartan women allowed for the formidable reputation of the same in the Spartan men.

At what age did Spartan girls usually marry?

While Athenian women might have expected to marry for the first time around the age of fourteen to men much older than them, Spartan women normally married between the ages of eighteen and twenty to men close to them in age.

What did girls do in ancient Sparta?

Spartan women were trained not only in sports and weapon-wielding but also in skills more expected for a girl in Ancient Greece. Namely, they were trained to dance and sing beautifully, which were considered equally important as the athletics they learned.

Were Spartans allowed to have wives?

Husbands and wives were also kept mostly separate, on the theory that being apart increases desire, and desire leads to healthier children. A married Spartan man continued living with other men while his children were young, and paternal duties were shared among all the men of the society.

Did Spartan girls go to school?

Spartan girls went to school to learn to be warriors. Their school was not as brutal, but all girls in ancient Sparta could wrestle and fist fight and handle a weapon. They were taught how to kill. The Spartans believed that strong women produced strong babies.

What did Sparta teach girls?

Spartan girls participated in the same physical fitness routines as the boys when young, even training with them at first, and were then educated in reading, writing, and mousike ("music") a term which included singing, dance, playing a musical instrument, and composing poetry.

What are some facts about Spartan girls?

Did Spartan brides shave their heads?

At the age of thirty Spartan men were required to take a wife. On their wedding night, servants would shave the bride's head and dress her in men's clothing. The groom would then sneak into the house where she lay and consummate the marriage.

Was homosexuality allowed in Sparta?

In Athens and Sparta, homosexuality was practiced to various degrees, and its status was somewhat “complicated,” according to Plato's Pausanias. In Thebes, on the other hand, it was actively encouraged, and even legally incentivized.

Was homosexuality illegal in Sparta?

Completely normal, even encouraged, between an adult and child/teenager. Most of the time the Spartans had homosexual sex within the Commune where they lived and it was often a power-play.

What happened to Spartan children at age 7?

At age seven, Spartan boys were turned over by their parents to the state, where they were organized into companies that lived, studied and trained together. “The boy who excelled in judgement and was most courageous in fighting was made captain of the company,” Plutarch wrote.

How long did the average Spartan live?

Spartans, average life span was 28 and more.

What age did Spartan laws forbade a girls marriage until?

Spartan women even competed in sports. Most important, rather than being married at the age of 12 or 13, Spartan law forbade the marriage of a girl until she was in her late teens or early 20s.

How did Spartans choose babies?

If deemed healthy and robust, the child was accepted into the household. However, if there were any signs of frailty or deformity, the decision was escalated to a more formalized process. This formal inspection was conducted by the Gerousia, the council of elders in Spartan society.

Did female Spartans fight?

Did Spartan women fight in the Peloponnesian War? No, they did not. Spartan women stayed at home, continued to exercise and preserve their reputation as the most beautiful Greek women, and likely kept an eye on the helots. If the Spartan warriors stayed away too long, some of the helots had affairs with Spartan women.

Were Spartans blonde?

Ancient Greece

In the Homeric epics, Menelaus the king of the Spartans is, together with some other Achaean leaders, portrayed as blond. Other blond characters in the Homeric poems are Peleus, Achilles, Meleager, Agamede, and Rhadamanthys.

Could Spartans divorce?

The only Greek states respecting whose laws of divorce we have any knowledge, are Athens and Sparta. In both states the law, it appears, permitted both husband and wife to call for and effect a divorce, though it was much easier for a husband to get rid of his wife than for a wife to get rid of her husband.

How was life different for Spartan boys and girls?

Spartan boys entered a rigorous state-sponsored education, military training and socialization program. Known as the Agoge, the system emphasized duty, discipline and endurance. Although Spartan women were not active in the military, they were educated and enjoyed more status and freedom than other Greek women.

How did Sparta treat their children?

Parenting in Sparta revolved around the state's goal of creating fierce warriors. Spartan parents practiced a strict and demanding parenting style, emphasizing toughness, discipline, and self-reliance. The state played a significant role in the upbringing of children, as they were seen as future defenders of Sparta.

What did Spartans eat?

The Spartans, noted among ancient writers for their austerity, prepared a black broth of blood and boiled pig's leg, seasoned with vinegar, which they combined with servings of barley, fruit, raw greens, wine and, at larger dinners, sausages or roasted meat. Spartan boys were sparingly issued barley cakes.