NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
... tan women act as mothers, daughters, wives and queens, and they participate in the political and social arenas. A Spartan woman named Gorgo is mentioned several times in Herodotus work as a daughter, wife and queen. Gorgo was the daughter of Cleomenes and wife of Leonidas. She is first mentioned in 5. 48: for Cleomenes reign was a brief one, and he died without a son to succeed him, leaving only a daughter whose name was Gorgo. Often, Herodotus does not name the women, but he does so name Gorgo.
She is next mentioned within a few chapters. In 5. 51, her skills at diplomacy and character analysis are shown to have developed at an early age. She is speaking to her father, Cleomenes, when Aristagoras has asked him for more support: Father, you had better go away, or the stranger will corrupt you. She makes this statement at the age of eight or nine, which is perhaps unrealistic. Herodotus also states that Gorgo was present the Spartan court: Cleomenes told him to say what he wished and not to mind the child (in Dewald, 1981). Cleomenes is said to have followed the advice of his daughter and did not continue the conversation with Aristagoras.
Gorgo also appears in Herodotus in 7. 239. In this chapter, Demaratos, an exile from Sparta, attempts to pass the news of Xerxes invasion to Sparta. He sends a message to Sparta, but it needs to be decoded. There is trouble with the deciphering: When the message reached its destination, no one was able to guess the secret until, as I understand, Cleomenes daughter, Gorgo, who was the wife of Leonidas, divined it and told the others that, if they scraped the wax off, they would find something written on the wood underneath. This was done; the message was revealed and read, and afterwards passed on to the other Greeks (in Dewald, 1981). This shows that Gorgo held a prestigious position in Spartan history, since she takes part in important decisions and discoveries.
This shows that women could enter into any social class, including the classes that only men could achieve in other Greek societies, such as Athens. Marriage in Athens and Sparta Girls in Athens were normally married soon after puberty to men who were typically in their late twenties or early thirties. Her father or other guardian provided the dowry and arranged the marriage. The betrothal symbolized the grooms acceptance of the qualities of the dowry as well as the qualities of the bride. In arranging the marriage, citizenship and wealth were important considerations. Since property was involved, a guardian would want to chose the son of a relative or close friend, so marriage usually took place within a small circle.
Rich married rich and poor married poor (Oswyn, 1986, pp. 212 - 213). The marriage ceremony began with the bride getting into a cart with the groom and driving through the streets of the city at night, with friends and family carrying torches to light the way. They went to the grooms house, where the marriage was consummated. The wife had the duty of bearing legitimate children and managing the household. Only the boys could inherit property. If there were no male heirs, then the husbands of the daughters would inherit the property (Oswyn, 1986, pp. 211 - 212).
Athenian wives were expected to stay inside their homes, except when attending funerals and festivals of the cults that were open to women. A woman who was seen outside on her own was assumed to be a slave, prostitute, concubine or a woman so poor that she had to work. Child care, spinning and weaving were the most important activities in the daily routine of the good wife Cantarella & Lefkowitz, 1987, pp. 116 - 117). Spartan men didnt live with their wives. Life was rough and simple for both men and women in Sparta.
Boys left home at the age of seven to be raised by the state in barracks. When they reached the age of 30, they could set up their own households, but they still ate dinner every night with the other men. The nation, not the family, was the center of focus for every man. From an early age, boys learned discipline, willingness to endure hardship, and the skills of a soldier. The marriage ceremony had an unusual ritual; at the end of the ceremony, the man carried his wife off as if he were taking her by force. However, this did not mean that the status of women was bad in Sparta.
In fact, they had a great deal of freedom. Spartan women had more power and status than Athenian women in every other respect. They married at age eighteen, much later than other Greeks. This was probably thought to guarantee healthier and stronger babies rather than a large number. It also meant that most girls were emotionally stronger when they married. Other Greeks believed that Spartan women had far too much power for the good of the state.
Women did not have a vote in the assembly but they seem to have had a lot of influence behind the scenes (Cantarella & Lefkowitz, 1987, pp. 116 - 117). An unmarried man might ask a friend if he could borrow his wife to produce a child for him. If the husband had all of the children he wanted and approved of the suitor, he might agree. It is highly unlikely that the mature wife and mother did not have a strong voice in the arrangements, considering the power and status of adult women in everything else. Since marriage existed strictly for the procreation of children and not as an answer to emotional or social needs, the arrangement probably would not have the same meaning to them as it would to us today. Spartan women were considered breeding machines for the purpose of producing the male soldiers the state needed to defend itself against revolt by the Helots.
Mothers love was replaced by a mothers pride in her sons bravery in battle and disgust with any sign of cowardice Cantarella & Lefkowitz, 1987, pp. 60 - 61, 81 - 82). Conclusion The women of ancient Sparta had much more freedom than the women of ancient Athens. This finding is surprising, since we think of Athenian democracy as the source of modern social and political freedom. In fact, Athens extended those privileges only to men who were not slaves and who could claim citizenship through both of their parents. In Sparta, on the other hand, social and political freedom was seen as a right and a duty, not as a privilege. All citizens of Sparta, including women, were expected to use that freedom for the benefit of the state.
As a result, women in Sparta could move freely in society. Even though they could not hold office, they did have a strong influence on the political process. They had much more freedom than the women of Athens. Works Cited Cantarella, Eva, and Mary R. Lefkowitz. (1987). Pandora's Daughters: The Role and Status of Women in Greek and Roman Antiquity.
Trans. Maureen B. Fant. New York: Johns Hopkins University Press. Dewald, C. (1981). Women and Culture in Herodotus Histories.
In Reflections on Women in Antiquity, ed. Helen Foley. New York, pp. 91 - 125. Finnegan, Rachel. (1995).
The Professional Careers: Women Pioneers and the Male Image Seduction. University College Dublin, Ireland. Available: web Grade, GMA. (1992). Plato Republic. Cambridge: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. Kersey, Ethel M. (1989).
Women Philosophers. New York: Greenwood Press. Murray, Oswyn. (1986). Life and Society in Classical Greece. In John Boardman, Jasper Griffin, and Oswyn Murray, eds. (1986). The Oxford History of the Classical World.
New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 204 - 233. Perry, Marvin, Myrna Chase, James R. Jacob, Margaret C. Jacob, and Theodore H. Von Laue. (1992). Western Civilization: Ideas, Politics & Society. 4 th edition, volume 1.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Free research essays on topics related to: spartan women, status of women, political freedom, marriage ceremony, social and political
Research essay sample on Women In Ancient Greece Athens And Sparta
