Spartan women counter his earlier characterization of a good wife because they had a lot more freedom. They went to school and were fit as well. They didn 't have to stay at home. They raced and wrestled and believed in women making their society stronger. The slaves would handle the housework. Because they actually had some freedom Aristotle thought that they were out of control. For him, an ideal wife had to stay at home and take care of the house. I 'd characterize the woman in Aristotle 's way as virtuous and obedient.
I believe Plutarch says they had those types of liberties for the fact that the husbands would be on campaigns which led the woman to do things on their own.
The woman had few responsibilities they were to take care of the home and give birth but I believe they had many freedoms for the fact that when their husbands were on campaign they were free to do basically what they liked to do from dancing to wrestling and also telling jokes about the young bachelors that did not go on campaigns. Giving birth was a sacred duty and making sure they gave birth to strong healthy boys was another responsibility they had.
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In Ancient Athens a woman was the queen of the domestic realm at not much else, while in Sparta she controlled her relationships as her husband was never there and went about her affairs as she pleased. If her husband was absent for too long she could find a new one, rather than having a new marriage arranged for her by a relative. As where if this were to occur in Athens she would have to move back in with her father. Athenian women and Spartan women lived extremely different lives except when it came to religion. Religion was their only common ground, their lives were completely different and their roles in society were also different. Women in Sparta had a much greater control of their destiny than did their sisters in Athens, while they were treated equally with each other and men in religious rituals that is where the equality