Roles Of Women In Classical Sparta

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The main argument in the fourth chapter of Classical Sparta: Techniques Behind her Success is that inheritance, marriage and demography are closely linked to the viability of Spartan society. In this chapter there are several useful pieces of information about the lives and roles of women in Spartan society as it outlines the typical Spartan inheritance and marriage dowry systems which effect wealth distribution among Spartan citizens. Women had key roles within Spartan society which contributed to the city-state’s continued prominence throughout ancient Greece. Women had domestic responsibilities including the maintenance of homes and farms, while the typical Greek female responsibilities such as weaving were delegated to slaves. Girls were …show more content…

There was a general control of female marriage in Sparta much like the rest of Greece. Fathers would arrange marriages in order to create family alliances through blood tying and dowry exchanges. Although Sparta was a monogamist state there is evidence of wife sharing, if one woman’s fertility was considered exceptional and she produced warrior sons she could be shared by her husband with other men. There is even evidence of marriage between close kin to insure the production of good Spartan warriors. Divorce was a foreign concept to Sparta as it was only done under the direct orders from the Ephoroi. Hodkinson failed to express the importance that was placed in Spartan society on marriage as it was the adhesive that held family alliances and the Spartan economy …show more content…

The wealth among Sparta’s elite was steadily declining throughout the 5th and 4th centuries BCE and it was a problem that was recognized but not adequately addressed by the Spartan oligarchical leaders. Hodkinson explains that the rich leaders’ greed was one of the major reasons for Sparta’s declining Spartiate class. The rich in Sparta ignored the economic struggles of the lower classes because their own wealth was growing. This resulted in the shrinking of the Spartiate class within Sparta and was one of the reasons for the state’s eventual loss of control over surrounding

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