Spartan Women

Spartan women were given great privileges as they Involved their prominent sections In society In regards to education, family, religion and the economy, which soon became desired by women all over ancient Greece. Ancient historians such as Plutarch, Xenophobe, Aristotle, Plato, Euripides, Herodotus, Discusses and Aristotelian provide valuable insight to the girls, women and mothers of Sparta, as they left no records themselves. Plutarch famous Sayings of Spartan Women alms to promote a Spartan society where females play an essential role in the Indoctrination of their sons and where mothers are painted has brutal patriots.Women were perhaps the most important eater of Spartan society for many reasons and even so their most important role was to give birth to healthy sons for Sparta. They weren't allowed to spin or weave like women from other parts of Greece; such menial tasks were meant for the helots – state owned slaves. Source 2 (Plutarch on Sparta, p. 1 60) â€Å"When an Ionian woman was priding herself on one of the tapestries she had made (which was Indeed of great value), a Spartan woman showed off her four most dutiful sons and said they were the kind of thing a noble and good woman ought to produce, and should boast of them and take pride in them.This quote illustrates that for Spartan women, skills in handicrafts were not essential, and were not regarded as important as bearing healthier, stronger sons for the army. Xenophobe stated, â€Å"For free women the most important Job was to bear children. † In order to Inculcate the offspring with patriotism, the mother had to have the correct attitude herself. Spartan mother did rear their sons according to the customs and expectations of their state and society.They were proud of their role in shaping new generations of citizens as cited in Source 2, women who produce strong offspring's (sons) should feel superior to other omen and should be proud of their self righteousness. It implies tha t women with strong sons were strong themselves because it is believed that strong Spartan women and men create a strong offspring. ‘Great value' also suggests that sons were worth more than daughters, as sons are the only ones that can achieve the greatest honor in Sparta.Women were encouraged to display patriotism by sacrificing the men whom they loved and so highly did they prize the warriors med, that they are said to have said tears of Joy over the bleeding bodies of their wounded sons. Source 1 (Plutarch on Sparta, p. 60) â€Å"As a woman was burying her son, a worthless old crone came up to her and said: ‘You poor woman, what a misfortune! ‘ ‘No, by the two gods, a piece of good fortune,' she replied, teacake I bore him so that he might die for sons, they took pride in the bravery that had led to that fate.The women were ordered not to mourn, to suffer in silence during their son or husband's death. The character of Spartan women is marked with uncomm on firmness. At the shrine of patriotism they immolated nature. Undaunted bravery and impeached honor was, in their estimation far beyond affection. If a son came home from Sparta without his shield the mothers wouldn't tolerate a son's act of cowardice and dishonor to Sparta. Sources tell us that a Spartan woman killed her son, who had deserted his post because he was unworthy of Sparta. She declared: â€Å"He was not my offspring†¦ Or I did not bear one unworthy of Sparta. † The education of women was a uniquely Spartan concept within the polis, Spartan women were well educated and brought up in an orderly fashion to become proper mothers for the state, manage killer (state-owned property) and partake in religious festivals. As Spartan boys were surrendered to the agog (Expatriate training program) Spartan girls remained at home with their mothers to get educated, learn reading and writing, as well as being organized into bands for team games and choral singing.In thes e bands they were taught, and had to regularly perform, choral lyrics of myths that had been immoralities through ancient songs and poems. Many of these poems would have come from the Parthian (a collection of work composed by Spartan poet Oilcan). Girls also learned the basis (a form of dancing/exercise where the girls do rump Jumps). Whilst in these bands the Spartan women also trained in gymnastics and athletics, such as running, wrestling and Javelin throwing. Spartan women of all ages were encouraged to mix and train with the Spartan men and enter sporting competitions to get fit and strong.Plato commented on the Spartan women's education: â€Å"there are not only men but women also who pride themselves on their education; you can tell that what I say is true and that the Spartan have the best education in philosophy. † The reasoning behind this idea of physical training is that while Spartan women trained with Spartan men, the men old choose the strongest woman and marr y her because if both parents were strong and healthy then they are more likely to give birth to a strong and healthy child, which was of great importance to the Spartan men and especially women as demonstrated in source 2.Spartan women had a great deal of influence and power on Sprat's economy. They were the ‘men' of Sparta when their husband and sons were at war or at the agog. The Management of killer was an essential skill for Spartan women. As each expatriate owned a killer, the killer would be inherited by the wives and mothers of Sparta to raise their sons who would eventually inherit the killer. This means that they controlled the family wealth which affected the entire Spartan agricultural economy which there fore shows there power on the economy and therefore on Sparta.Spartan male citizens were dependent on their wife's efficiency to pay their â€Å"dues† to the cystitis. The management of the killer was not Just a responsibility which separated them from wom en from other Greek cities, this role was a crucial element in the Spartan economy. In Athens and Greece poorer women worked on Sparta, as manual labor and handcrafting was seen as an act for the helots only and his is also exemplified in source 2 as the Spartan women doesn't have time to do low acts like handcrafting and manual labor. Her main goal is to produce healthy and fit children and manage the Spartan economy.Aristotle disapproved of the power women wielded in Sparta, especially in the economy, and felt it contributed strongly to the downfall of the once mighty polis. In his writing he frequently mentioned that the trend to give women economic power could lead to a contrariety, a government controlled by women. Growth in economic prestige and immense power is apparent wrought the story of Princess Kinas, the daughter of King Archaisms and champion of two Olympic chariot team races. This wealthy equestrian expert was the owner of a twice Olympic champion chariot team (396 an d 392 SC).She dedicated a statue to herself at the Olympic sanctuary in Olympus. Which according to historians indicates that, â€Å"To compete was a mark of wealth, since horses require a great deal of grass and grazing land is not plentiful in Greece† and this tells us that as a result â€Å"women had effective control of plentiful wealth. † Archaeological evidence provides us with a deep understanding of how important he role of religion was in Sparta and to Spartan women. Evidence comes from the sanctuary of Artemisia Orator, here hundreds of votive offerings were found and the majority of them were lead figurines in the shape of women.Theories suggest that it is linked to childbirth. This theory suggests that pregnant women would make these offerings for three purposes: either to ask for a successful childbirth as many women died from giving birth in antiquity, to ask that they bear a strong and healthy son, fit to become a warrior of Sparta or to make offerings t o the goddess Aphrodite Hear, when their daughters were married. According to Plutarch, Ulcerous stated that only women who had died giving birth would be allowed to have a marked grave – further archaeological evidence reinforces this custom.This shows how important childbirth was to the Spartan in that â€Å"only women who lost their lives to perpetuate the state were honored as heroes. † Yet it is also possible that the female-shaped figurines represented the understanding of importance and deep respect for the ‘maternal figure' in Spartan religion – as the Spartan took up many female gods from Greek mythology. At the temple of Athena of the Bronze House there are numerous bronze tastes of Athena and Aphrodite, typifying the importance of matriarchal figures in Spartan religion.