Women of Greece

A detailed Summary of Women of Greece

If you were a woman how would you rather be treated? If you are the relaxed, dependent type, perhaps you would find the life of the typical Athenian woman agreeable. Athenian women spent most of their lives indoors doing mostly domestic activities. But if you are an independent type of lady, who enjoys exercise, not overly modest, and do not mind sharing your bed with more than one man, then you would probably enjoy the life of a Spartan woman. The basic similarity between the lives of the women in these two city-states was that they had the same overall role: bearing strong children.

The soldier-centered state was the most liberal state in regards to the status of women. Women did not go into military training but they were educated in a similar fashion. Their daily life was spent outside doing physical training. The women were required to do physical training just as vigorous as the males of Sparta; contests of running and strength existed for each sex. The motive for these physical activities for the women was so that they would be able to be strong mothers. The state determined if children, male and female, were strong or weak. Weakling children were left in the hills to die of exposure. In Alkmans' Partheneia, th

Also an elderly man with a young wife, might introduce his wife to a younger man of whom he approved and adopt any offspring of their union. In this way Spartan women were liable to the state to breed children.

Athenian women were married at around the age of fourteen to an older male. Her father would arrange the marriage with the husband to be. The wedding day was most likely the first day that she would see her husband. The ceremonial sacrifices were made to Hera, Zeus, Artemis, Aphrodite, and Peitho. The ceremony was held at the father's home where there was a feast and wedding hymns to be sung. After much partying and singing. The woman is announced to be the "preparer of food" by giving her a sieve of barley, which was also a symbol of fertility. She enters into the wedding chamber where the consummation takes place and is closely guarded by a friend. The woman's domestic work was minimal and her general purpose as a wife was to have healthy children.

Marriage in Sparta was an odd event. The husband carried his bride off by a sort of force. The superintendent of the wedding comes and cuts the bride's hair close to her head, dresses her in a men's clothing, and leaves her upon a mattress in the dark. The husband comes in with regular clothing on and proceeds to undress and have relations with his wife, staying some time together. Then he returns to his apartment with the other young men because he is not allowed to live in his own house until he is around thirty. The wife has to

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1018
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History