When we study the development of the Greek world, we realize that the variety of peoples that spread along the rugged terrain of Hellas are responsible for the formation of very quirky. In each of the city-states we have institutions, business transactions, social hierarchies and other habits that define the uniqueness of each focus of occupation in this great region.
Generally, the city-states of Sparta and Athens serve as parameters for understanding this diverse nature. In many history books we even find some summary tables in which the characteristics of these two cultures are placed in parallel to demonstrate the profound changes between them. Despite their didactic aspect, such schemes end up generating some incoherent perceptions about these cities.
By valuing intellectual training, some readers are led to believe that Athenians were “more developed” than members of Spartan society. Furthermore, the laconism (habit of expressing oneself in a few words) practiced by Spartans also reinforces this type of judgment. However, when we discuss the role played by women in each of these city-states we see that this notion turns out to be completely flawed.
Among the Athenians, even though they were the creators of democracy, we noticed that the role of women was reduced. Raised to be docile and reserved for the domestic world, Athenian women were subjugated by their father until he chose which man she could marry. After marriage, female subservience was assigned to the husband. Even after the political reforms, women did not participate in political issues as they were considered unsuitable for this type of task.
In the Spartan world this position was quite different. Reinforcing its military character, the Spartans believed that the woman should be physically prepared so that she could give rise to suitable individuals to compose the army of that city. Therefore, it was common for these women to engage in games and other types of sports activities. In addition, they could control domestic finances and participate in public meetings connected with Spartan political life.
Through this interesting example, we can see that the hierarchy of these two civilizations does not deal coherently with the peculiarities of each city-state. In fact, these criteria of “better” and “worse” end up simply reproducing what applies to the values of those who observe each of the ancient Greek cities. Thus, we must realize that the differences between each of the cultures conceived in Ancient Greece have nothing to do with this type of comprehensive parameter.
By Rainer Sousa
Graduated in History
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/historiag/atenas-esparta-as-mulheres.htm
