Spartan Women

Adolescence for Spartan girls was a period of heightened expectations and intensified training. As their education progressed, so did their physical training and participation in religious festivals. Unlike women from other Greek states, Spartan girls participated in athletic events. From Xenonphon’s The Constitution of the Spartans, it is known that King Lycurgus recommended just about the same amount of exercise for women as men, and encouraged female athleticism. Unmarried girls often indulged in sporting events such as running, wrestling, javelin and discus throws, and even boxing. There is evidence to suggest that Spartan women learned to ride horses, with a few depictions of the same surviving into the modern age. Girls’ athletic participation came to an end upon their marriage, following which they were more restricted to their estates and family holdings. Interestingly, the first-ever woman to win an Olympic event in ancient Greece was also a Spartan—Cynisca—who happened to be the daughter of King Archidamus and achieved victory twice in the four-horse chariot race in 396 and 392 BCE, respectively.

Adolescence was seen as a crucial period to build character, and Spartan girls were further trained in areas such as music, dance, and poetry. Spartan girls learned these arts in groups with other girls their own age, frequently under the direction of an older girl. More importantly, the girls’ participation in these arts also held religious significance, since dance and singing were a crucial part of the cults of Helen and Artemis, two key goddesses who were celebrated among Spartan women. In addition, the dances and songs learned by Spartan adolescents also imparted significant cultural and traditional values that were expected to be carried forward.

Entering adulthood, Spartan women assumed their roles as wives, mothers, and citizens of Sparta. The average Spartan woman was between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one, unlike in Athens, where girls frequently married by the age of fourteen. Interestingly, Spartan women were also married to men who were closer to them in age, as opposed to the rest of the Greek world, where men married much younger women. Following the wedding, Spartan women rarely lived with their husbands, since the men were expected to live in their communal residence until the age of thirty. The former would have to handle the majority of household and business affairs in their absence.

The primary purpose of all Spartan marriages was to produce strong and able children. Couples were encouraged to conceive soon after their wedding, and the primary responsibilities of a married Spartan woman rested on her attaining motherhood. Unlike most Greek women, Spartan women had a say in their marriages, and all couples would enter a trial period to assess compatibility and their ability to conceive. In cases where a couple failed, separation and divorce were natural. Following this, both the woman and man were encouraged to remarry. There is evidence to suggest plural marriages in ancient Sparta, where both men and women had more than one partner. This custom, again, was aimed at providing the Spartan state with more able-bodied manpower to meet its militaristic ambitions.

Motherhood remained central to the adult Spartan woman, and all Spartan women were encouraged to have as many strong and healthy children as possible to swell Sparta’s population, directly aiding its military, which it so often relied upon. However, it wasn’t the only responsibility she shouldered. They took on key roles within the family and the household and were the central figures who attended to the matters of home and associated businesses. The Spartan state not only acknowledged but also encouraged women to take on these responsibilities, given that the men were often away securing state interests. In Sparta, women carried out the majority of the domestic duties that would typically fall under the purview of men in other Greek city-states. Greek thinkers from other states frequently derided Sparta for its comparatively egalitarian policies, which helped them foster a strong and independent populace of capable women, primarily because Spartan women had the right to own wealth and property.

As Spartan women transitioned into their later years, their societal roles shifted, but their influence remained substantial. Mothers of warriors earned immense respect and wielded significant power within the household. Additionally, they played crucial roles in religious ceremonies and festivals, maintaining their connection to the community and upholding spiritual traditions. Elderly women, especially the mothers of male warriors, were essential to maintaining the strict Spartan code of courage and sacrifice. There have been instances in which Spartan mothers have even been accused of killing their sons for cowardice, based on works like Sayings of Spartan Women by Plutarch. While such extreme cases would’ve been rare, Spartan women did indeed enforce serious social consequences on their sons who were deemed cowardly. On the contrary, women often held their sons who died in battle in high honor and as a source of both pride and joy.

Unlike their male counterparts, older Spartan women did not participate in the Gerousia or its policymaking and statecraft activities. They remained mostly as guides to younger generations of women, and would even take on the roles of priestesses to provide spiritual guidance to fellow Spartans. Overall, the later life of Spartan women was characterized by continued respect, shifting roles, and enduring influence within the community, culminating in the wisdom and experience they offered in their twilight years.