For this unit’s Primary Source Assignment, read first the background reading “Gender and Sexual Relations in Ancient Greece.” Then read the excerpts on women’s legal status in the Greek world, and respond to the prompt on the following slide.
IMAGINING WOMEN
Questions to Consider:
How do the women of Athens seem to be depicted compared to the women of Sparta? Compare the similarities and differences between the women and their lifestyles, at least as imagined/prescribed by Lycurgus of Sparta and Apollodorus of Athens.
How was the role of women different in Athens compared to the role of women in Sparta? What do you think the women’s
roles were exactly and do you think they were okay with their roles as women?
Who wrote these documents? Do you think the depiction of women in them reflected how women actually lived? Why or
why not?