OCR A-Level Ancient History H407
Relations Between Greek States and Non-Greek States, 492–404 BC
The Society and Politics of Sparta, 478–404 BC
The Culture and Politics of Athens, c.460–c.399 BC
The Rise of Macedon, c.359–323 BC
The Julio-Claudian Emperors, 31 BC–AD 68
The Breakdown of the Late Republic, 88–31 BC
The Flavians, AD 68–96
Ruling Roman Britain, AD 43–c.128
The Society and Politics of Sparta, 478–404 BC
The education of Spartan girls
- 2 things to know
- Component Group 1
Overview
Recall questions on the girls' races, wrestling and discus, why they did no spinning or weaving, their festival choruses, the age of marriage, Lampito in Lysistrata, Plutarch's reliability, Alcman's maiden-songs for Hagesichora and Agido, and the bronze running-girl figurine in the British Museum.
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Why were Spartan girls not taught spinning and weaving as Greek girls elsewhere were?
Questions from this subtopic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
Where were Spartan girls brought up, and how was this different from the boys' arrangement?
Model answer
Girls stayed in their family homes rather than living in barracks, but the state organised public physical training for them.
- 2
Name three athletic exercises Spartan girls were trained in.
Model answer
They ran races, wrestled, and threw the discus.
- 3
Why did the Spartan state train its girls physically?
Model answer
Strong and healthy women were expected to bear strong children and to survive childbirth, so their training served the state's need for future soldiers.
- 4
Why were Spartan girls not taught spinning and weaving as Greek girls elsewhere were?
Model answer
Helot women did the household textile work, so a Spartiate woman was trained instead to command a household and to produce and raise children.
- 5
What public role did girls perform at Spartan festivals?
Model answer
They sang and danced in choruses before the whole community, praising brave men by name and mocking those who had failed.
- 6
How did the singing of Spartan girls at festivals reinforce the values the state wanted in its men?
Model answer
Praise and ridicule delivered in front of everyone made a young man's reputation depend on the opinion of the women as well as the men, so it added shame and honour to the pressure to fight well.
Other ways to work this
The same content, four other ways.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Every question in The Society and Politics of Sparta, 478–404 BC, on a schedule.
Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.
Or £46 a year, about £3.83 a month. Cancel anytime.