The Portrayal of Spartan Women - Essay Example

The Portrayal of Spartan Women Sparta was the queen of the Greek city states as early as the 600 BC. It had by then been able to conquer many of the neighboring states and the southern half of the Peloponnese (Herodotus).  The ones that had been defeated were named the Helots and were made to toil on the requisite tasks related to agriculture on land that was owned by the victors of war. This automatically served to make Sparta a state that was highly self sufficient as far as requirements in terms of food was concerned. added to this the state owned and was a ruler of a slave population that was seven to eight times as huge. This therefore meant that Sparta was never in need of trade flows or maintaining trade relations with much of the outside world at all thereby ensuring something of an isolation as far as the cultural contact was concerned for Sparta (Plutarch and Talbert, p46 1988). The presence of such a large slave population also ensured that Sparta was often afraid that there would be revolt by the ever growing slaves, thereby forcing much of the state to assume a state of an armed camp. It is in this context that would have to understand the history of the role that the Spartan women had in the functioning of Sparta as a state. Sparta as a state was characterized by to extremes of nationhood and love for the nation. This in fact mostly overruled the love that one could have for his or her family (Michell, p104, 1964). The center of the individual’s attention was the state and not the household. To this end, therefore the culture in Sparta was different as compared to other societies that were spun around the notion of the dominance of the man at the home. In Sparta, instances of boys leaving home at the age of seven, so that they could learn about the state and be brought up in barracks were not an uncommon notion. They were permitted to create their homes and set up their families long before they were 30 years of age. Every Spartan’s ability was directly linked to the state’s survival in the sense that every Spartan was supposed to fight at a minimum of eight Helots and defeat them.  Boys had the first and sort of mandatory privilege to learn enduring hardship and become a capable soldier. As part of their basic training, Spartan youths were sent into the countryside to seek out and kill those Helots who looked as if they might become leaders in their community.             Sparta was one of the few states that recognized the fact that well governed states come into existence and evolve as a result of the deliberate creative acts and legislations as far as education and child rearing activities are concerned (Pomeroy, p27, 2002). This manifested itself in Sparta prescribing an educational program for both the boys and the girls from childhood. In archaic and classical Sparta, girls were raised to become the sort of mothers that Sparta needed. The boys on the other hand were raised to become soldiers thereby making their training a lot more difficult. Although it has been generally accepted that literacy in Sparta was confined to a small elite, the lack of literacy they believed should not be a hindering factor as far as governance was concerned. In a democratic polis like Athens was, there were strong incentives for men to learn how to read and write; since women did not participate in the process of governance, there was no reason to impart them education. In Sparta, in contrast, the education of boys was devoted to the development of the military skills, leaving little time for the liberal arts. Girls however spent time wit the mothers and the matrons, getting married only at eighteen a relatively older age of marriage by the day’s standards. They learnt reading, writing along with all other aspects of mousike (music, dancing, poetry). Given the fact that Sparta was consumed with the idea of the nation and the state above family and the household, the position of women in terms of the context of ancient history and the role that they played in Sparta becomes a very interesting mix (Kennell, 1981). One would have to remember the fact that much of Sparta was a war camp and there was a constant need of a population and able sons that could fuel the requirements of the camp. The role of the woman as the bearer of children would therefore come under suspect in case she was married to an older man if the society was to practice monogamy (Plutarch, 1988). There was thus a focus of the removal of jealousy, the concept of disorderly behavior was far removed from the requirements of the perfect marriage. It was in fact accepted that it was honorable on the part of worthy men to share children and their production. This if a man found another he liked and approved of, he would introduce the wife to the man so that they could have a noble child who the husband would adopt and raise as his own. Children belonged not their fathers but to the city as whole, thus children were to be produced not by random parents but from the very best (Plutarch, 1988). Thus if there was a noble woman, she was to mate with a nobleman even if he was not a husband so the noblest of breed could be prepared. The role of the noble women therefore was not to look after the household or the babies that they had even produced but to the production of children. Women were therefore to have contests of speed and strength with one another like men thereby assuring that both the parents were strong making the children sturdier. It was lawful for a man to have children by any fertile and well bred women who came to his attention, subject of course to her husband’s consent (Plutarch, 1988). Even though adult women had status and power in everything else in the family, it was strangely unlikely that the same women who were empowered in certain aspects lacked any say in the important arrangements. Marriage was more for procreation than as a means of emotional bonding or social needs; consequently the arrangements did not have the same meaning to Spartans as the same have to us.             Marriages were usually not arranged but a man and a woman were expected to get married when they peaked physically so that they could provide the state with the best possible offsprings (Hart, p201. 2001). This would translate to an indirect arrangement rather than a direct one, there was little thought given to the choices and the preferences of the prospective bride or groom. It must be stated however that overall, a Spartan woman would have more control over her choice of spouse than her counterpart elsewhere. Marriages took place, as stated earlier at the age of eighteen, much later than other Greeks.  This meant not just that there would be the ability in the woman to bear fine children but also that she would be stronger emotionally so that she could deal well with the demands of the household and the husband. It was probably a misnomer that led many to believe that Spartan women exerted a lot of power for the betterment of the state.  Plutarch wrote that “the men of Sparta always obeyed their wives.”   Aristotle was even more critical of the influence women had in politics arguing that it was contributing to the downfall of the country.   Women had no vote in the assembly but are said to have lot of influence behind the corridors of power.             In Sparta as opposed to many pother contemporary states, women were given the right to own property, and they in were able to hold over a third of the available land in Sparta and had the right to pass it on to whoever they wanted (Pomeroy. 2001). The girls had inheritance rights just like the sons. Overall evidences to support or oppose the stand are paltry but it could be assumed that there were also attempts made so the practice of dowry was removed for good. Normally the inheritance of daughters was half as that of sons but when combined with dowry; they ended up actually have a complete share of the estate. The women in Sparta also had to contest the reputation of being bold and licentious. This in fact made them unpopular as far as the other Greeks were concerned. The dress that they wore were ripped in a manner that showed more skin and allowed more movement that customary in the neighboring states (Plutarch, 1988). Spartan girls participated in sports as much as boys did; however they may have been topless during any sports activity in front of a mixed audience.  There have been mentions of nude rituals by women that were witnessed by men.  Beginning of the 5th century BC and end of the 4th witnessed decline in the number of men relative to women.  Several men might share a wife and regard the children as their own.  The woman would clearly be the dominant member of any such family.    Others regard it as an appropriate response to a disproportionate number of men and women in a society where family life was not all that important anyway.             In conclusion one could draw comparisons between the life of a Spartan woman and the life of an Athenian woman and one would find that the scenario that one encounters in contradictory and yet interesting to understand. Both sets of women led lives that were not lived in the proximity of men that they ere married to. Most Athenian men were busy in the pursuits of philosophy and politics. While doing so, almost all of them expected their wives to be devout and obedient towards them. It was considered very lowly if any male Athenian citizen would go to a woman to seek any advice.   The case of the Spartan men was worse. They led their lives in barracks, despite it being correct that they were the only ones who held official office everyone acknowledged the influence women had in decision making.  It might have been correct to assume that the women of Sparta had independence and a greater control of their lives than many others of their times but the quality of this life is a fact that is still open to debate. Given the fact that they would not get emotional support from their marriages, the loneliness that characterized the Athenians was true in case of the women of Sparta as well. Athens men were touted as bosses in public; however they didn’t find it important to vest themselves with some social requirement in the confines of their homes.  In Sparta, a husband’s over power was replaced by the state that exerted a real, and even though unspoken, control over the affair. Despite all the changes, the Spartan women continued to procreate for one and only one purpose and that was to produce male soldiers who could be pitched against Helots whenever they assaulted the state.  Mother love was replaced by a mother’s pride in her son’s bravery in battle and disgust with any sign of cowardice.  “Come home with your shield or upon it” was reputed to be the advice one woman gave her son as he went off to war.  She may well have been speaking on behalf of all Spartan women. References: Herodotus, Index Plutarch, Life of Lycurgus or Plutarch on Sparta, translated by R.J.A Talbert, pub, Penguin Harmondsworth 1988, The Sayings of Spartan Women” Aristophanes’ Lysistrata; in Aristophanes, 1973, The Acharnians, The Clouds, Lysistrata, trans. A. H. Somerstein  Forrest, W.G., 1968, A History of Sparta, 950-192 BC, New York, pp938 Kennell, Nigel M., 1995, The gymnasium of virtue: education & culture in ancient Sparta, pub, Chapel Hill Michell, H, Sparta, Cambridge, 1964 Pomeroy, S. B. 2002, Spartan Women, Oxford Powell, A., Athens and Sparta: constructing Greek political and social history from 478 BC, London, 1988  Cartledge, P., 'Spartan wives: liberation or licence?', Classical Quarterly 31 (1981) 84-105 Read More