Athenian men would spend time in the army between ages eighteen and twenty for two years. Growing up, Athenian boys would go through a similar practice of schooling system as the Spartan boys but just not as rough and military focused. They learned to read, write, and count as well as sing and play musical instruments. Boys from specifically wealthy families would continue their schooling with private tutors. This would set them on a course to participation in the Athenian assembly, while the boys in less wealthy families would grow up to be farmers and grow food for the city’s richer citizens. Athens was famous for the cultural accomplishments of its male citizens, including the work of its philosophers, playwrights, and sculptors.
Societies of Sparta, Rome, and Athens, it is clear women in Sparta enjoyed the most rights and freedoms. Sparta’s women enjoyed the most rights because they were treated more like equals to men. They were educated, girls trained and participated in athletic events just like the boys, girls and women could decide who they wanted to marry, and women could own property and run their own households because many men were absent due to their military obligations, including living in barracks even when in Sparta.
Being a military society and giving women the power to make decisions allowed Spartan women to have a prominent role in Sparta’s society. Rome’s women mainly had rights related to running their household, but only a few wealthy women had a meaningful role outside of the home due to their political connections. By law, women could not act on their own behalf and needed a male family member to do so. Athens’s women did not have many rights at all, especially when compared to the women in Sparta. Although Athens was the birthplace of democracy and was a society focused on the arts and philosophy, women were not considered participants in Athens society.
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Women in Sparta had the most rights and responsibilities when compared to women in Rome and Athens. Because Sparta was a military focused society, it allowed women to act on their own behalf both in society and in the home because men were not around much. Also, because Sparta educated their women and allowed them to own property, women had a more prominent and important role in Sparta’s society. Although Rome and Athens are considered the birthplace of modern civilization, they were societies for men, not women.
