“Despite the apparent ‘freedoms’ enjoyed by Spartan adult women in contrast to Athenian women, it was still masculine - because martial values ruled the society and polity as a whole. Spartan men did not consider that a diminution of their masculinity as perhaps Athenian men would have,” points out Prof. “Unlike Athenian women, Spartan adult women could both own and dispose of private landed property.
He believed that nature intended for men to rule over women, yet in Sparta, their peculiar definition of masculinity seemed to have the opposite result.īut only seemingly. The old-fashioned Aristotle was not impressed by the Spartan situation.
