The Spartan Weapon

The book “Spartan Women” by Sarah B. Pomeroy seeks to reconstruct the lives and the world of the Sparta's women; including how their legal status changed over time and how the women held on to their amazing autonomy. Susan B. Pomeroy generally analyzes ancient texts and to construct the world of most noticed females. Sarah B. Pomeroy is a Classist author in the twenty-first century. Throughout this paper, what will be discussed is: the author credentials, the book’s main aim, the book’s evidence, and the author writing style of the book. Spartan Women would be a powerful credible source to learn the life the Spartan women endured during their time.

Ancient Greece is a land consisting of many city-states, called poleis. Each polis had its own government, set of laws, rulers, and customs. Two of the most famous and influential city-states were Sparta and Athens. Sparta is better than Athens because their army was powerful and protective, girls received some education and women had more freedom than in other poleis.

30 – year old Spartan males. Like the women Athenians, women Spartans are not allowed to

In this essay, I would like to answer and discuss the following questions: How did the people in Athens and Sparta obtain the right to participate in public life and make decisions affecting the community? Who held public office? What rules governed the selection of public office holders? How were two city-states similar in their governmental structures and how did they differ with each other?

I would like to educate the masses on a matter of frequent debate. This is none other then Athens vs Sparta, and I can say the thorough research and facts have lead me to concluded that Sparta is a much better city-state then Athens. Sparta is better then Athens because of its respect of women, more equal school system, integrity of government, treatment of slaves, and superior military. First of all, women were given far more rights than in Athens. First of all, Women in Sparta could own there own land, participate in politics and the olympics among other things. Where as in Athens women weren't even allowed to leave there houses in there own accord. Furthermore on average women were married of at the age 12 or

Athens and Sparta are individually a single unit, but they have differences that set them apart. Athens has numerous social classes in it’s government, they are known for their strong navy, they have democratic values, and Athens has a bigger population than Sparta. Sparta only has three social classes, they are known for their strong army, which consists of the best and most feared fighters on land, and they have militaristic values.There is a debate on which polis is superior, Athens or Sparta. Athens and Sparta are both well-developed societies, however, Sparta stands out as the superior polis because Spartan women have more rights, education was distributed equally among boys and girls in Sparta, and Sparta had a strong and united culture.

To illustrate, Spartan girls would also be sent to school to learn how to fight and stay fit. “Spartan women were expected to protect the city from attacks when men were not home, for this reason they were trained for battle” (Document D). One reason for the Spartan women to stay fit and know to fight was to protect Sparta if it was to be attack when the men weren’t home. Women also stayed fit so they have and raise a new generation of healthy children. These motives were taken gravely as this purpose was drilled to the girls minds as they learn these skill at school much like the boys. Another example is that every Spartan girl at age eighteen would have to take a strength test. If they pass, they are set up to get married, but if they fail, they were not allowed to marry and lose their civilian’s rights. This shows that Spartan women roles were taken seriously that they would take a test where their life and rights would be at stake. Thus, women roles played a big part in Spartan

During this process they would have hours upon hours of training and they also taught them to feel no pain by whipping them with a whip while they were tied up against a pole, and if they were to wine or cry they would be whipped more. The young boys would also have to spar against full grown Spartan men. In this camp they taught the famous battle formation called “the Phalanx.” This formation is a easy process in the start all the soldiers did was line up shield to shield and their shield would cover from neck to underneath the kneecap. Their shield played a big part also because it was made out of brass and reinforced with 3 inches of wood. The main idea of the phalanx formation was to be an impenetrable wall as a unit and it played a huge part in the Battle of Thermopylae, but in the end the Spartan Army lost because they were simply outnumbered by the Persian which is what the movie 300 with Gerard Butler is based on. During the training process they would have them constantly making the phalanx and having other soldiers trying to break

The education of Sparta varied in strengths and in weaknesses. The Sparta’s were first located in southern Greece called the Peloponnese. In this colony, the Sparta’s only vision was bloodthirsty war and violence. At the age of seven, a young boy is removed from his family and is expected, from his 8th to his 21st year, become educated to a brutal military-like discipline. Therefore, regarding the education in Sparta, the weaknesses outweighed the strength because the Spartan’s didn’t value family morals, the basics of reading and writing were taught, and the upbringing of Spartan boys was cruel and painful.

The Spartans were basically the soldiers of the Ancient Greek city-state, Sparta. The Spartans devoted all their time to the military, partaking in military training, hunting and war battles. They lived a frugal lifestyle and without any luxuries. They were taught to be brave and courageous at a very young age, soon evolving into soldiers for the military.

Military is a big part of how countries protect themselves in the world. Many countries have militaries. Some military strategies, weapons, and tactics came from ancient history.

In Sparta, women were needed to live at home, while their husbands remained in military barracks until the age thirty. Because of this separation, Spartan women had greater freedom to move around more. Permitted to own and inherit land, Spartan women had more power in the household than what was common for women elsewhere in Greece, and they could even supervise large estates. They were encouraged to exercise and remain fit to bear and raise healthy children. Like the man, Spartan women engaged in athletic exercises in the nude.

In comparison to other states of ancient Greece, Spartans were less cultured, due to their nominal interest in material possession. The Spartans while civilized and educated were less intrigued within the buildings of large monuments , than some of their Greek counterparts. Moreover, education was vital to the Spartans. Although their priority relied on military and combat over anything else, in many ways intelligence and knowledge were also important to succeed in war. Spartans’ would teach young children more than just the perplexing theories of war and strength. It would also teach them music, reading, writing, philosophy, and

Sparta’s women were known for their promiscuity and boldness . On account of Sparta’s strict militaristic lifestyle, their lives were very different compared to regular women in most city-states of Greece. Although their main job is still child-bearing, this job held much more honor and respect because in theory, a Spartan women gave birth to strong, Spartan boys who would in turn become strong and successful soldiers for Sparta’s renowned military . Just as boys were trained to become soldiers from a young age, girls were taught to be the mothers a militant Sparta

In ancient Greece religion was an important facet of everyday life as well as an essential aspect of warfare and battle. Soldiers in ancient Greece frequently sought support from the deities to ensure a safe and conclusive victory through ritual sacrifice. Sometimes warriors even had to sacrifice multiple times to ensure support, even if this meant postponing battle. Religion did not only dictate the time in which one could begin a battle, but times in which battles could not be fought at all, that is during festivals and religious games. Religion also dictated spaces in which battles could not be fought, in holy sites such as temples, and spaces in which battles should be fought, something that could be decided through the interpretation of religious prophecies.