Comparison of Men and Women of Athens and Sparta
Comparison of men and women in Athens & Sparta
When comparing power levels and women’s rights, Sparta was a leader in its time. Athens and Sparta, though both Greek city-states were different in the way they operated. More specifically, Sparta was different in the way that they treated their women. Athenian woman were treated quite appallingly compared to the standards of today’s women. The stem of this difference seems to lie in how these two city-states were governed. Sparta, known for its’ militaristic ways, was an oligarchy and Athens, known for its’ philosophers and thinkers, was a democracy. Sparta’s oligarchy was ruled by a counsel of 5 men, on being a lawmaker or giver. The lawgiver’s name was Lycurgus. Lycurgus was known for his warden-like ways in the training of men for war, but also for his equivalence in the rights of Spartan women. It has been speculated that women’s equality to men sprung from stories “of the Amazons [, warrior women of the Bronze Age, position and bravery] in the Trojan War” (Who were the Amazons?). Athens, on the other hand, was a democracy that acted with the voice of the people through the Senate and the Roman Council.
The life of men and women in Athens and Sparta was very different if we look at equality and women rights; the conclusion in the end will be declared as Sparta having more equality and more women rights then in Athens. The Athenian women were kept at low level status like the status of women under Taliban. The reason of this difference was because of the function of the governments of both the states. Sparta was a military oligarchy while Athens was a democracy. While Sparta had a history of producing magnificent fighters, Athens was famous for producing thinkers & philosophers etc. 5 men were supposed to run the Spartan Oligarchy. Athens on the other hand was a democracy, which functioned with the voice of the people through senate and the Roman Council.
In Athens, family life was strong as
When comparing power levels and women’s rights, Sparta was a leader in its time. Athens and Sparta, though both Greek city-states were different in the way they operated. More specifically, Sparta was different in the way that they treated their women. Athenian woman were treated quite appallingly compared to the standards of today’s women. The stem of this difference seems to lie in how these two city-states were governed. Sparta, known for its’ militaristic ways, was an oligarchy and Athens, known for its’ philosophers and thinkers, was a democracy. Sparta’s oligarchy was ruled by a counsel of 5 men, on being a lawmaker or giver. The lawgiver’s name was Lycurgus. Lycurgus was known for his warden-like ways in the training of men for war, but also for his equivalence in the rights of Spartan women. It has been speculated that women’s equality to men sprung from stories “of the Amazons [, warrior women of the Bronze Age, position and bravery] in the Trojan War” (Who were the Amazons?). Athens, on the other hand, was a democracy that acted with the voice of the people through the Senate and the Roman Council.
The life of men and women in Athens and Sparta was very different if we look at equality and women rights; the conclusion in the end will be declared as Sparta having more equality and more women rights then in Athens. The Athenian women were kept at low level status like the status of women under Taliban. The reason of this difference was because of the function of the governments of both the states. Sparta was a military oligarchy while Athens was a democracy. While Sparta had a history of producing magnificent fighters, Athens was famous for producing thinkers & philosophers etc. 5 men were supposed to run the Spartan Oligarchy. Athens on the other hand was a democracy, which functioned with the voice of the people through senate and the Roman Council.
In Athens, family life was strong as
References: Blundell, Sue. Women in ancient Greece, Volume 1995, Part 2. New York: Harvard University Press, 1995. Powell, Anton, and Stephen Hodkinson. The Shadow of Sparta. New York: Routledge: taylor & Francis Group, 2002. Savage, Charles Albert. The Athenian family: a sociological and legal study, based chiefly on the works of the Attic orators. Baltimore: The Lord Baltimore Press, 1997. Schrader, Helena P. Leonidas of Sparta: A Boy of the Agoge. London: Wheatmark Inc, 2010. Welty, Paul Thomas. Man 's cultural heritage: a world history. New York: Lippincott, 1965.