Oppression_Of_Women_As_Far_Back_As_Athens_And_Sparta

Oppression Of Women As Far Back As Athens And Sparta Most people think of ancient Athens as the city of freedom and democracy, whereas they think of Sparta as a highly restricted society. Schools teach us that modern democracies are modeled on Athens, while military dictatorships are modeled after Sparta. However, history shows us that women had much more liberty in Sparta than in Athens. In fact, the democracy of Athens was available only to free men who were citizens of Athens. Moreover, to claim citizenship, an Athenian had to prove that both his parents were "astoi." For the father, being "astos" meant that he was an Athenian citizen, but the mother could not be a citizen. Women were only able to transmit the rights of citizenship to their sons (Chase 60). The political structure of Sparta, on the other hand, provided more liberty for more people, especially to women. Both Athenian and Spartan women lived much of their lives separately from the men of their societies. Athenian men spent time away discussing politics and philosophy, but when they went home they expected obedience from their wives. However, no Athenian citizen would ever admit that he took advice from a woman. women, sparta, men, athens, spartan, athenian, state, education, woman, male, freedom, power, much, gorgo, age, wives, wife, social, same, political, own, married, citizenship, citizen, slaves, slave, herodotus, training, taught, status, sons, society, since, property, marriage