Changes

Females played a crucial role in the enforcement of Spartan values, especially the family members of warriors. The female relatives of fallen soldiers celebrated the death of those who died in battle and lamented the survival of those adjudged to be cowards. The mothers of warriors had to ensure that their sons fought and died like their forefathers. Reputedly, a Spartan mother told her son ‘to come back with his shield or on it.’ <ref>Talbot, p 118</ref> In other words, come back a hero or come back dead. Women had a great deal of social authority in the city-state, unlike other parts of Greece. It was widely believed in the Greek world that women ‘ruled’ the men in the city-state. When a queen was asked why Spartan women were the only in Greece able to dominate men, she replied, ‘"because we are also the only ones who give birth to men." <ref> Plutarch, Moralia 225A and 240E </ref>

Females in the city-state, because their husbands lived in the barracks or were often on a campaign, ran the household (Oikos). They, therefore, managed not only houses but also estates and oversaw a large number of slaves. Therefore, much of the economy was run by women, which was unthinkable in Athens and other Greek city-states. This gave them real power and influence. Critically, unlike in other city-states, they could also inherit land and wealth and married, ora male authority figure did not control widowed women. As men usually died earlier than women, this meant that many widows amassed considerable fortunes.<ref>, Pomeroy, p. 167</ref>