Study Questions on Bad Spartan Women
Begin with the passage from Aristotle’s Politics. It’s a short but difficult passage, much like the
Foucault we read at the beginning of the semester. Go slowly and think carefully.
1. In discussing possible weaknesses in Sparta’s constitution Aristotle first considers slaves
(specifically the helots), then women. Is this conjunction incidental or significant? Why so?
2. The lawgiver that Aristotle mentions is Lycurgus. Compare the discussion of Lycurgus’ laws
from Plutarch that we read last time. How are the two descriptions different? How do you think
that is possible? Which do you believe?
3. The problems with Spartan women, according to Aristotle, stem from one source. What is it?
4. To what does Aristotle attribute the Spartal “laxness” regarding their women?
5. How did the disparity in landholdings arise in Sparta? How much did women own in Aris-
totle’s time? How exactly did the unequal ownership of property impair the military?
Go back and consider the portrayal of Lampito and Sparta in Aristophanes’ Lysistrata lines 80–
260 and 1026–1056.
6. Does the depiction (from a generation before Aristotle) mesh well with the description in the
Politics?
7. Are there any other Athenian stereotypes of Spartan women that you can extract?
Now review the Plutarch passages from last class.
8. What passages in Plutarch depict Spartan women negatively?
9. How can we reconcile the negative depictions with the very positive (?) descriptions of
Archidamia, Agesistrata, Chilonis, and Cratesicleia?
10. Try (like Plutarch) to form a nuanced view of female behavior in Sparta. What are the bene-
fits and dangers of their system?
