Role of women in Athens

           Becoming a housewife was the expected role of Classical Athenian women. After marrying and having children, the woman were in charge of all household duties. The duties of a household wife depended on whether or not the household was rich or poor. In a rich household, the wife would distribute jobs to the slaves working both inside and outside of the house. Housewives not only were responsible for the slaves; they also had the task of training the household workers. The wives were expected to care for anyone in the household who became sick, and if a family member died, the housewife would be in charge of visiting the tomb regularly to present offerings.
In poor households, the wife had many more duties, as poor households had no slaves to assist with the work. Additional duties for a poor housewife would include shopping for food, making the family's clothing, and retrieving water. A poor housewife would be likely to acquire a job to assist with the finances of the household. These jobs could include acting as a wet-nurse, midwife or small-time market trader.
                Housewives were kept in seclusion. They were not allowed to mingle with men in any setting. A housewife was not allowed to answer the door of her home or even be in the same room as male guests who visited. The houses' rooms also separated males and females. The wives, daughters, and female slaves lived upstairs, in rooms that were away from the windows and streets.
              Religion was the one area of public life where women could participate freely. In Athens the priestess of Athena, the city's eponymous goddess, held much honor. She was consulted for major decisions and her words were well respected. During the Panathenaea, a festival to celebrate the birthday of Athena, the daughters of nobles who were virgins were chosen to carry sacred baskets in the procession. This choosing of virgin women was both an honor and an insult as the reputation of girls who were not chosen was put in doubt.
             Prostitution flourished in Greece, specifically in Athens there were two types of prostitutes:

• Hetairai: considered the higher of two prostitute classes; they underwent extensive training and were considered professional sexual entertainers.
• Pornai: the lower of the two prostitute classes; they were often slaves, foreigners or metics.
•  Prostitutes were also drawn on drinking cups as a form of pinups for male entertainment.

 They preferred daughters to sons so that they could train them in the trade of prostitution.

Role of women in Sparta

            Mothers were essentially the head of the households in Spartan society. Sons were taken from the house at age seven and put through agoge. Daughters also underwent public education, although girls stayed in their mother’s houses until they were married, around the age of eighteen, and would have developed an overwhelming bond with their mothers. Women were not expected to learn domestic duties like weaving and cleaning, as the estate’s helots would perform these tasks. Therefore, women were more preoccupied with maintaining their physical stature, bearing children, and supervising the helots who worked the land.
            When the men weren’t stationed they were preoccupied with training and remained separated from their homes leaving the women to completely dominate the household.
Under the Spartan law, women who had died in child birth and men who died in serving their country both equally deserved the honor of having their names in-scripted on their gravestones.
Spartan women were highly encouraged to produce many children, preferably male, to increase Sparta's military population.
              Spartan women were allowed to divorce their husbands without fear of losing their personal wealth. As equal citizens of the community, women could divorce and were not required to or discouraged from remarrying.
                Female education is vague and rarely mentioned as in a formal class setting, presumably taking place in the home. It is at least documented that wealthier women wrote letters to their sons and it is therefore assumed that they could read and write.
                  In their youth, female Spartans ran around naked alongside the boys and competed in gymnastics, wrestling, foot and horse races, and other required physical trials, all in the public’s view. Women were also known to compete in the Olympics.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4cwDFewytA

Political rights of women in Athens

Athenian women could not own property in their own right. If they were married, complete control went to their husband. If they divorced, control and rights over any property went back to their father or nearest male relative.
Women had very few rights, let alone legal rights. They had no rights to vote or take part in the operation of the state. They were not allowed to watch the Olympic Games, as the participants did not wear clothes. Chariot racing was the only game women could win, and only then if they owned the horse. Most Greek households had slaves. Female slaves cooked, cleaned, and worked in the fields. If a woman did not have a slave, then they had a lot more freedom, but a lot more work to do. Athenians created democracy. All citizens were expected to vote; women and slaves were not considered citizens.

Political rights of women in Sparta

When comparing power levels and women’s rights, Sparta was a leader in its time. Sparta, known for its’ militaristic ways, was an oligarchy.  Sparta’s oligarchy was ruled by a counsel of 5 men, one 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. Sparta was comprised of three groups of people: citizens, the only ones with political power; perioikoi, free but without any political rights; and helots, serfs owned by the state and compelled to do all of the agricultural work and give half of the produce to their citizen overlords. Women could own property---and did in fact own more than a third of the land in Sparta---and they could dispose of it as they wished. 


works cited: http://www.womenintheancientworld.com/spartanwomen.htm









After reading the political rights of Spartan and Athenian women, what are the major differences between the political rights of the women in each Greek city?

What did women wear in Athens?

Clothing for women consisted of two main garments-a tunic (either a peplos or chiton) and a cloak (himation). The peplos was a large rectangle of heavy fabric, usually wool, folded over along the upper edge so that the over fold would reach to the waist. The chiton was made of a much lighter material, normally linen. It was a very long and very wide rectangle of fabric sewn up at the sides, pinned or sewn at the shoulders, and usually girded around the waist. Unlike Spartan women, Athenian women's skin was covered up.

 

                                             

What did women wear in Sparta?

Spartan women were known for their natural beauty, and they were forbidden from wearing any kind of makeup or beauty enhancements. Most families made their own clothes, which were simple tunics and warm cloaks, made of linen or wool; they were often decorated to represent the city-state in which they lived. The tunic that they wore  revealed much skin.


 
 
 

















Discussion: After reading and viewing the pictures of the women in Sparta and Athens, purely based on their clothes, which women do you think had more power and freedom? Why or why not?