Iphigeneia In Sparta

This excerpt displays the intense unhappiness that stems from this women’s marriage. She sees her marriage as a trap, almost as if she is a prisoner or a slave to a man she sees as a foreigner. Married women spent most of their time indoors tending to household duties even in times in which their husband was occupied with agricultural work or military duties (Fantham et. al. 71). Men took care of the work outside of the house and the women was responsible for doing the work inside the house properly because “she is [only] in charge of her own sphere” (Fantham et. al 71). Unlike Sparta, women could not make important social and financial decisions on behalf of her husband (Fantham et. al. 72). Another tragic Iphigeneia states in a play by Euripides, “We are women, a tribe sympathetic to each other and most reliable in preserving our common interests” (Fantham et. al. 69). Women during this time period were aware of each other’s misery and suffering and struggled with the fact that it was beyond their control. Athenian women were secluded and forced to live the life she …show more content…
Women in ancient Sparta were engaged in choirs which indicates that women were taught to read music and many poems were also learned as well (Polmeroy 5). Stories also mention women sending letter to their sons encouraging them to be brave warriors. Competitiveness was encouraged within Spartan culture and both sexes had that unparalleled expectation within their cognitive education and physical education In Sparta “ talent [was] an aspect of women’s ability to speak… women were encouraged and trained to speak in public, praising the brave, rebelling cowards and bachelors” (Polmeroy 9). In Sparta, philosophical conversation is valued and it is incredibly unfortunate to think that a husband in Athens to believe that it is essential for a women to remain silent and solely watch other the