Life Styles In Sparta

667 Words3 Pages
The life-styles of the people of Sparta were truly astonishing. The males were raised by their mothers until they were seven years old. At the age of seven, the boys were then taken away from their families and given to state educators. These educators had taught then discipline, how to deal with any personal burden, and devotion to Sparta. They were taught these skills until age 20; at that point, they were then enlisted into the army. They lived in the barracks and were given an allotment of land for their service, which they used in order to contribute food. Once they turned the age of 60, they were released from the army and were able to live with their families. Any marriages were arranged by parents. The girls were given…show more content…
In Athenian life-style, women were considered property of their father until they were married, at which time they were then considered property of their husbands. They were not allowed to own property inside of their own home or make any legal contracts. They also aren't capable of testifying in court and initiate divorce. Women were not allowed to communicate with males except for their husbands. A wives main function in society was to bear children and manage households. Any marriages were arranged through families. Due to this, it was very uncommon for the bride and groom to meet prior to becoming married. Men often did not marry until the age of thirty, the women usually being either half the males age or less. In the event of bearing an unwanted child, the infant was killed in order to control the population of Athens (107). The Spartan social pyramid was almost nonexistent. The women of Sparta were believed to be as strong as husbands in character. Women had owned property, and even managed the families estates. They were capable of holding political and economical power, which was often uncommon in other Greek states. The women were even able…show more content…
They owned large estates which often caused suffering to any individual that was either a sharecropper or a farmer. Men of every social class was allowed to participate in democracy. However, women, slaves, and residential foreigners were not capable of participating in democracy; these groups of individuals were also denied citizenship, and not allowed to have any implication in government choices. Women were thought to be very low in value. It was not uncommon for men to sleep with prostitutes or have sex outside of a marriage. The Athens population consisted mostly of slaves, nearly one in every four people were slaves (107). The enslaved people were capable of purchasing their freedom and were able to keep a sixth of wages they earned (108). Greek Poleis was very close to the early history of Sparta, The Spartan has a life- style that was purely militaristic that a very small amount of Greeks wished to be a part of. Spartans had conquered Messenia, a nearby region, then the people of Messenia were forced to become slaves under Sparta's control. In 650 BCE, the Messenians had attempted to rebel against Sparta. After approximately 20 years the Spartans ended

More about Life Styles In Sparta

Open Document