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Classical Athens Vs Sparta

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Ancient Greece was a period of time that sculpted the foundation of modern western world. Greece during this time was separated into numerous city-states which had various things in common as well as many differences, in terms of politics, education, sport and physical education and women, which all shaped the western world into what we know today. The two key city-states were Athens and Sparta. These two city states had vastly different approaches and influences in their ways in society, particularly in sport, and their views on women in sport.
The Ancient Olympic Games also had a large influence on Greece and women’s participation in the games. This essay compares sport in Athens and Sparta and as there are a few similarities, there are …show more content…

(Mechikoff, 2014, p. 64). It was a democratic city, that focused on the idea of body and mind, and was also highly egocentric. Athenians focused on the development of the person in mind and body, through sports and games. There were two main facilities for athletics situated in Athens: Palaestra and the Gymnasium. (Mechikoff, 2014, p. 66). Gymnasiums were like sports clubs and were a feature of social life. Music, philosophy, massage, and discussions, were integrated into the gymnasium along with exercise. The Palaestras were known as wrestling grounds, and were used as training schools for youths and athletes. Women in Athens were not highly trained or valued and were to focus on household duties. As a young girl they would often be trained in spinning and weaving clothing, cooking and managing the household. This was as far as their education would go, unless a family member were to teach them how to read …show more content…

It was an oligarchy city state which focused on military power and gave women more freedom and rights and the ability to participate in sports (Mechikoff, 2014, p. 64). Spartan’s approach to sport was the strict training of the body and for military purposes to produce fit, strong, and courageous soldiers. Spartans trained boys from the age of seven in the Agoge which was a supervised education program designed to create soldiers trained in swimming, fighting, wrestling, horsemanship, ball games, and pankration (Mechikoff, 2014, p. 65). Women in Sparta received training in sports and took part in laborious training. The reason for this was to keep them strong and healthy to produce strong and healthy offspring. The competed in footraces, wrestling, discuss, javelin, dancing and often competed against each other. Before they married, young girls would train their bodies to display the maturity in preparation for marriage and motherhood (Coakley, Hallinan, & McDonald, 2011, p. 263). Spartan women were educated in reading, writing, and had acquired knowledge in literature. This was important as when the men went to war, the women would be running businesses and even the economics in the state. Xenophon, the ancient Greek philosopher, thought that women had an essential role in maintaining Sparta’s social system (Germain, 2013, p. 131). As women participated in physical activities, there was a drop-in mortality rates in both mothers and

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