Manuella+-_-

THE WOMEN OF ATHENS

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The women of sparta Ancient Greek women Athenian women . Athenian women can be grouped into three general classes. The lowest class was the slave, they helped raise children and do house chores. The second class was Athenian citizen women. The third class was the Hetaerae. The Hetaerae women were given an education in reading, writing and music. They were taught reading and writing so that they could teach their sons in the future.They were always compared to the Geisha’s of China. I think this is so because the Hetaerae were trained to entertain men, just like the Geisha’s of China. In general, women in Athens were taught cooking, spinning and other domestic duties. They were also taught basic facts about religion and mythology. We now know that only girls with wealthy parents got to go to school. In Athens, marriage was the most important aspect of life. It is a very ceremonial event. In Athens, a marriage was a must and was always arranged by fathers. It was arranged from an early age if you came from a wealthy family. It was important for a woman to be virgin before they were married. A girl always marries at a young age, usually after their puberty, they were often married to a man in his 30’s. The girl will not meet her husband until a dowry was given. On the night before the ceremony, the bride and the groom took ritual baths and sang hymns to Hymen, the God of marriage. On the day of the celebration , there will be a celebration called the ‘gamos’, it is to honour the passing of a girl from her father to her husband. The bride would be washed and dressed by relatives. A white dress was worn as it was the colour for a marriage or religious ceremonies. During the ceremony, the father will announce that he will be giving his daughter away. The toys of the girl would be offered to Artemis, the virgin goddess. After giving away her toys, her hair will be cut; the purpose of this is to indicate a brand new life. The bride would only become a member of the new family when she produced her first child. Once a girl was married, all inheritance and money goes to the husband. After a marriage, a woman could not roam about, they had to stay home and do house chores. From here, we know that both wealthy and poor women had no power at all after they were married.
 * The women of ancient Greece had very few rights and were not respected. Their status was minimal. They were raised differently than men because the philosophers thought that women were not as smart as men. They learned skills such as spinning, weaving, sewing and cooking. They stayed in their house doing house chores. ****Poor women worked outside, helping their husbands at the market. ****They were controlled and protected by their father, husband, or a male relative for their entire life. ** Women were not allowed to participate in the Olympic Games and were also not allowed to watch it. The reason is because male were participating and were not wearing any clothing. The only game they could win is chariot racing.

The purpose of being a wife is to have healthy children. All children were born on the home. After a birth, the new family will hang something on their door depending on what gender their child is. A woollen strip is to indicate a female baby and an olive branch to indicate a boy. The new family did not always keep their child. After the baby was born, the wife would show it to her husband. If the husband accepted it, it would live, but if not, it would die. Babies were often rejected if they were unhealthy, or sometimes if they were a girl. If the baby was accepted, the child will be given a name and will also be presented to the gods and goddess. From this, we know that husbands had lots of power.

It was difficult for a woman to divorce her husband. Only the husbands make arrangements for a divorce. If he chose to arrange a divorce, he will reject her in front of her family members and will sent her back to her father. The women will lose all rights to their children. For a woman to divorce her husband, she would have to find and official and provide reasons. If a woman was widowed, it was the duty of her father’s brother to find her another husband. She will also move out of her husband’s house and went back to her father’s house. From here, we know that fathers and husbands had lots of rights to end a marriage.

SPARTAN WOMEN Spartan women were respected and had a reputation for their daring personality. They were not afraid to speak, they could give opinions and were very loyal. They had freedom, which other Greek women did not have. It all begins when the laws stated that girls should be given the same care as their brothers. Women in Sparta did not depend on men for money or shelter. They protect themselves. They could make their own money as they have good education. Women in Sparta were allowed to own and control their own property. In fact, they own more than a third of Sparta. We know now that women in Sparta were not afraid to speak for themselves

They are required to attend the public school. They were taught how to read and write. They were also taught spinning, weaving and other domestic arts by their mother. In Sparta, girls were as important as boys. The education for both girls and boys were equal. In school, everybody was allowed and was encouraged to play sports. I t was from there that a Spartan woman became the first woman to win the Olympic Games. From here, we know that girls were treated nicely and were respected. Unlike Athens, Marriage in Sparta was a non-ceremonial event. In Sparta, sexual maturity were not rushed, it was not rushed because young girls were not yet ready for a sexual activity. They were removed from men so that they will stay virgin before they got married. When it was time for a woman to marry, they would impress a guy by wearing their tunics in a way to reveal a little bit of leg and thigh. Spartan woman married at 18, which was much later than other Greek woman. It was estimated that the wives were only 4 to 5 years younger than their husband. Women in Sparta were so powerful that their husbands have to listen to them; Spartan men were ruled by their wives. At the beginning of a marriage, the women was abducted and had to shave her head, which was done to indicate a new beginning. They also had to wear men’s clothing, to show their toughness. Marriage was only for the reproduction of strong and healthy children, not for emotional matters. Since the wives had to take care of the family’s wealth, they had no time to take care of their own children. Nurses handled the children. During war, the women overtake her husband’s property and guard it against invaders. If a husband was away at war for too long, the wife had the rights to marry another man. From this paragraph, we now know that Spartan women were not rushed in their sexual maturity and we also know that women in Sparta had power in marriages.

comparison The major difference between Spartan and Athenian women was their education. Women in Sparta were taught how to protect themselves and were also taught reading and writing. However in Athens, instead of being taught how to read and write, they were taught cooking, sewing and other house duties. Spartan women were respected because they were educated and were able to do things on their own. Athenian women were not respected as they were not as educated as Spartan women and were not able to do things on their own and had to depend on men. The education differences create more differences between Spartan and Athenian women. In marriage and family life, Spartan and Athenian women had some similar process and some different process. In Sparta, a marriage is a non- ceremonial event while in Athens, a marriage is a very ceremonial event. Both had very little to do with marriage and did not get to choose who they would like to marry. Husbands were chosen by their father. Both Spartan and Athenian women would also be abducted in the middle of the night and their hair would to be cut. In Athens, girls marry at a young age, usually at fourteen. In Sparta, girls marry at eighteen, which is way later than Athenian women. Athenian women had to take care of their children themselves, while in Sparta, since women were in charge of the family wealth, a slave take care of their children. From here, we know that Athenian Girls marry at a young age while Spartan women marry at a later age.

In both Athens and Sparta, women were always talking and discussing about property and shelter, but not for the same reasons. In Athens, women stayed home, spinning, weaving, cooking and keeping the home clean. In Sparta, women were the complete opposite. Women in Sparta were allowed to own property, and did not have to depend on men. There is also a difference in their personality; Spartan women took pride in their bodies and toughness while Athenian women took more pride in their clothing. Athenian women and Spartan women had the same problem; their husbands were always away. Husbands were always away as they had to do trainings to get ready for wars. From here we know that shelter was very important for both Spartan and Athenian women. In my personal opinion, Sparta is the most fair as it allows women to receive a good education and also allow women to speak for themselves. I think that Sparta had influenced our society. If Spartan women did not show the world how they could survive on their own just by getting a good education, education for girls will eventually stop. Now, girls are being educated and are able to be great leaders. In conclusion, it is very clear that that the two city states had very different views about what women should do.

BY MANUELLA
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