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A Comparative Study of the Role of Women in Athens and Sparta【Abstract】 Athens and Sparta, two important city-states in Ancient Greece, shared many similarities in the role of women, and they had their own characteristics in this as well. The reasons for the similarities lie mainly in the economic base of the society and the moral shackles on women, while the reasons for the differences depend greatly on the formation of the society and the purpose of education.【Key Words】 the role of women; Athens; Sparta; comparison1. IntroductionTo great extent, Ancient Greece was dominated by men. In all the city-states, the main body of the social and political activities was man and the status of women was low. Such was the case with Athens and Sparta, two important city-states in Ancient Greece. In spite of that, Spartan women did enjoy relatively high status, power, and respect that were unreachable for Athenian women. 2. The similarities between the role of Athenian women and the role of Spartan women2.1 In the aspect of marriage and familyGenerally speaking, marriage in Athens and Sparta had two main steps, engagement and getting married. A woman had no right to state her opinion and select her spouse. The selection of the marriage partner of a woman was done by the womans father or guardian. And a mother was usually ruled out from her daughters marriage. When making the marriage contract, it doesnt matter at all whether the woman was on the scene and whether she agreed. That is to say, a woman was in a total passive status in her own marriage.Likewise, the divorce was also dominated by men. Though women had certain divorcing initiatives, men had after all more privileges over women in marriage. A man could drive his wife out of the house at any time through a simple procedure and he had no obligation to state any reasons. But when a woman wanted to divorce, she had to present a specific written statement to the archon on reasons why she wanted to divorce. And the archon might turn down a womans statement if her husband refused to get divorced.In families, women were restricted in homes most of the time and many shackles of morality, decency and propriety were placed upon them. To great extent, the functions of women were to carry on the family lines and to manage the family affairs.2.2 In the aspect of political affairsIn Athens and Sparta, the organ of power- the ecclesia was confined to men with citizen right. Neither of the two city-states gave citizen rights to women, thus no woman could participate in the ecclesia to state her opinions or to vote. Even in Athens, which was the most democratic city-state in Ancient Greece, women had no political status.However, to some extent, women could involve in political activities indirectly. In Athens, some intelligent and capable women would pay close attention to the political situation and discuss political affairs with her husband and son. And in Sparta, a highly militarized city-state, women could also indirectly join the management of military and political. But this kind of involvement was actually very limited.2.3 In the aspect of religious affairsThough women in Athens and Sparta had no right in politics, they were involved in religious affairs in various ways. For example, they would attend many religious ceremonies and even preside over some rituals, especially those closely related with life and death.2.4 In the aspect of the dualism of identityIn those days, by marrying, giving birth to children and joining religious affairs, women became part of the city-states. However, due to the restrictions set by laws in rights and behaviors, they were excluded from the city-states in essence, and this sense, women had no difference with gentiles. Women in both Athens and Sparta could not get rid of this dualism of identity.3. The Differences between the role of Athenian Women and the role of Spartan Women3.1 In the aspect of familyBoth in Athens and Sparta, the most important task of women in families was to bear and raise children. In both city-states, children had always been with their mothers before they were seven years old. But mothers in the two city-states used very different ways to bring up their children. In Athens, due to the cultural phenomenon, mothers would always tell funny stories to their children in daytime and sing beautiful lullabies for them at night. However, in Sparta, because of the focus on military, mothers attached great importance to childrens outdoor activities, in which they told their children to be brave and strong. Women in Sparta regarded being a mother of warriors as the topmost ideal. And indeed, they were mostly good mothers of excellent Spartan warriors.3.2 In the aspect of outdoor activitiesAthens and Sparta were both dominated by men. That is to say, the main body of the social activities was man. Womens freedom of action varied greatly in Athens and Sparta.Women in Athens had an extremely low status in the society. They were excluded from almost any forms of social activities. Women had no chance to go outside except when they had to join public federals or some festivals. Even in their own homes, women were forbidden from going into the living room when a drinking party was held there. Spartan women benefit from the militarization in which men were in wars all the year round. They enjoyed relatively more freedom of action and chances to involve in the social affairs. Unlike Athenian women who wore heavy, concealing clothes and were rarely seen outside the house, Spartan women wore short dresses and went where they pleased. Girls as well as boys exercised nude, and young women as well as young men might participate in the festival of Nude Youth. Whats more, women in Sparta could appear in sports fields, and some could even act as gladiators.3.3 In the aspect of economic affairsIn Athens, women had no property right, that is to say, they could not process or control any property. All the economic affairs of a woman were dealt with by her male guardian. Women were completely excluded from property inheritance.Compared with Athenian women, women in Sparta had a relatively great property right. They could control their own properties as well as the properties of male relatives who were away with the army. It is estimated that women were the sole owners of at least 35% of all land and property in Sparta. Unlike women in Athens, if a Spartan woman became the heiress of her father because she had no living brothers to inherit, the woman was not required to divorce her current spouse in order to marry her nearest paternal relative.3.4 In the aspect of educationThe education of women differed in Athens and Sparta.The society of Athens paid more attention to womens silence and obedience. It was opposed in Athens to offer education to women except the knowledge of keeping a house. Apart from the ways of managing a household taught by their mother, women in Athens had no other chances to receive all-around education.It was different in Sparta. Women education was to some degree greatly valued in Sparta. Physical education came first. Women were required to take sports now and then. Besides that, women might receive certain amount of cultural education in girl schools. They could learn poetry, music and dancing there. Some famous poetess at that time, like Megalostrata and Cleitagora, were from Sparta. It is proved by some documents and materials that many women in Sparta were literate.4. The reasons for the similarities and differences4.1The reasons for the similarities4.1.1 The economic base of the societyAs city-states with small territory and population, the economic base of Athens and Sparta was small peasant economy and independent handicraft industry. Citizens with proportional lands were the foundation of the society. Women in Athens and Sparta, who had little citizen right and few lands, usually acted as economic appendages to men.4.1.2 The moral shackles on womenIn Ancient Greece, women were restricted by conventions in many aspects. Women who were involved in too many outdoor activities might be despised by people. The most important virtue for women was staying at home, raising children and being obedient to husbands.4.2The reasons for the differences4.2.1 The formation of the societyThough Athens and Spartan were both typical city-states, the ways of their formation were totally different. Athens was formed on class antagonism, while Sparta was formed on the basis of conquering other ethics.In order to coordinate the sharp class contradictions in Athens, a democracy was founded. This kind of democracy was confined to men, so it was actually founded at the cost of sacrificing womens right. However, in Sparta, though the Ecclesia did exist, the essence of its governing is oligarchy, which was performed mainly by aristocrats. Under the circumstances, ordinary men, even with their citizen right, was close to ordinary women in social status. Thus women in Sparta enjoyed relatively high status. 4.2.2 The purpose of education The formation of the society deeply influenced the purpose of education in the city-states.Due to the social environment created by democracy, as well as the prosperous commercial and industrial economy, the purpose of the education in Athens was to make politicians and merchants out of the citizens. And this had little to do with women who were restricted at homes.Meanwhile, Sparta, with the militarization of its social regime, set training qualified warriors as its purpose of education. In order to meet this special need, Sparta encouraged women to receive education and take exercise in the same way as men to make strong mothers. They believed that good constitutions of mothers could contribute to the health and strength of the next generation. The other purpose of women education was to make them be abl