Source document: Graeco-Latina Brunensia. 2014, vol. 19, iss. 1, pp. [77]-92
Extent
[77]-92
-
ISSN1803-7402 (print)2336-4424 (online)
Stable URL (handle): http://hdl.handle.net/11222.digilib/130051
Type
Article
Language
English
Greek, Ancient (to 1453)
License: Not specified license
Abstract(s)
In the opinion of some researchers, the family was not highly valued in Sparta. Nevertheless, certain pieces of evidence confirm that the Spartans appreciated their families more than we previously thought. The author who most influenced the ancient and modern image of Spartan mothers and their role in society is Plutarch. Unfortunately, his accounts on Sparta are in part a figment of literary imagination and present the Spartan mirage. Plutarch depicts members of both the royal families and of the elite as they rear their offspring, indicating the essential role the mothers played in both the private and public spheres. The question is whether Plutarch's works are a reliable source for Spartan history. This paper focuses on Plutarch's portrayal of the Spartan mother in Sayings of Spartan Women, as compared to the one in the rest of his works. Most apophthegms focus on a relationship between a mother and a son ‒ on the role a mother plays in creating a Spartan citizen. Her attitude to her offspring supposedly mirrors the customs and expectations of their state and society. Thus, in this paper I present the Spartan mother, a literary composite of virtues and a model parent, as not necessarily equal to actual women of Sparta who lived in the complex realities of that city-state.
Note
- This article is realised as a part of the Project The Eastern Mediterranean from the 4th century BC until Late Antiquity, is realized within International Ph.D. Projects Programme of Foundation for Polish Science co-financed from European Union, Regional Development Fund within the frameworks of Measure 1.2 Strengthening the Human Potential within the Science Sector of the Operational Program Innovative Economy.
Document
References:
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[27] Stadter, PhilipA. 2008. " Notes and Anecdotes: Observations on Cross-Genre Apophthegmata ." In Nikolaidis, Anastasios G. [Ed.]. The Unity of Plutarch's Work: 'Moralia' Themes in the 'Lives', Features of the 'Lives' in the 'Moralia'. Berlin – New York: Walter de Gruyter, 53‒66.
[28] Thommen, Lukas. 1999. " Spartanische Frauen ." Museum Helveticum, 56, 129‒149.
[29] Tigerstedt, Eugène N. 1974. The Legend of Sparta in Classical Antiquity, I . Stockholm – Göteborg – Uppsala: Almqvist & Wiksell.
[30] Tigerstedt, Eugène N. 1974. The Legend of Sparta in Classical Antiquity, II . Stockholm ‒ Göteborg ‒ Uppsala: Almqvist & Wiksell.
[31] van der Stock, Luc. 2004. " Plutarch in Plutarch: The Problem of the Hypomnemata ." In Gallo, Italo [Ed.]. La Biblioteca di Plutarco. Atti del IX Convegno plutarcheo, Pavia, 13‒15 giugno 2002. Napoli: M. D' Auria, 331‒340.
[32] Wardman, Alan. 1974. Plutarch's Lives . London: Elek.
[33] Zadorojnyi, Alexei V. 2012. " Mimesis and the (plu)past in Plutarch's Lives ." In Grethlein, Jonas ‒ Krebs, Christopher B. [Eds.]. Time and Narrative in Ancient Historiography. The 'Plupast' from Herodotus to Appian. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[34] Zweig, Bella. 1993. " The Only Women Who Give Birth to Men: A Gynocentric, Cross-Cultural View of Women in Ancient Sparta ." In DeForest, Mary [Ed.]. Women's Power, Man's Game. Essays on Classical Antiquity in Honor of Joy K. King. Wauconda: Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, 32‒53.
[2] Bradford, Alfred S. 1986. " Gynaikokratoumenoi: Did Spartan Women Rule Spartan Men? " Ancient World, 14, 13‒16.
[3] Cartledge, Paul. 2001. " Spartan Wives: Liberation or Licence? " In Cartledge, Paul. Spartan Reflections. London: Duckworth, 106‒126.
[4] De Blois, Lukas. 2005. " Plutarch's Lycurgus: A Platonic Biography ." In Vössing, Konrad [ Ed.]. Biographie und Prosopographie. Internationales Kolloquium zum 65. Geburtstag von Anthony R. Birley. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 91‒102.
[5] Demand, Nancy. 1994. Birth, Death and Motherhood in Classical Greece . Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
[6] Dettenhofer, Maria H. 1993. " Die Frauen von Sparta. Gesellschaftliche Position und politische Relevanz ." Klio, 75, 61‒75.
[7] Dillon, Matthew. 2007. " Were Spartan women who died in childbirth honoured with grave inscriptions? Whether to read ἱερῶν or λεχοῦς at Plutarch Lykourgos 27.3 ." Hermes: Zeitschrift fur klassische Philologie, 135, 149‒156.
[8] Duff, Timothy E. 1999. Plutarch's Lives. Exploring Virtue and Vice . Oxford: Oxford University Press.
[9] Fantham, Elaine. 1995. " Spartan Women: Women in a Warrior Society ." In Fantham, Elaine e.a. Women in the Classical World: image and text. New York: Oxford University Press, 56‒67.
[10] Figueira, Thomas J. 2010. " Gynecocracy: How Women Policed Masculine Behaviour in Archaic and Classical Sparta ." In Powell, Anton ‒ Hodkinson, Stephen [eds.]. Sparta: The Body Politic. Swansea: The Classical Press of Wales, 265‒296.
[11] French, Valerie. 1997. " The Spartan Family and The Spartan Decline: Changes in Child-Rearing Practices and Failure to Reform ." In Hamilton, Charles D. ‒ Krentz, Peter [eds.]. Polis and Polemos: Essays on Politics, War, and History in Ancient Greece in Honor of Donald Kagan. Claremont: Regina Books, 241‒274.
[12] Hodkinson, Stephen. 2000. Property and Wealth in Classical Sparta . Swansea: The Classical Press of Wales.
[13] Kulesza, Ryszard. 2013. " The Spartan Family ." Eos, 207‒221.
[14] Kulesza, Ryszard. 2014. " The Women of Sparta ." [forthcoming].
[15] Kunstler, Barton L. 1987. " Family Dynamics and Female Power in Ancient Sparta ." Helios, 13, 31‒48.
[16] Le Corsu, France. 1981. Plutarque et les femmes dans Vies paralleles . Paris: Les Belles Lettres.
[17] Millender, Elen. 2009. " The Spartan Dyarchy: A Comparative Perspective ." In Hodkinson, Stephen ‒ Powell, Anton [eds.]. Sparta: Comparative Approaches and Classical Perspective. Swansea: Classical Press of Wales.
[18] Mossé, Claude. 1991. " Women in the Spartan Revolutions of the Third Century B.C ." In Pomeroy, Sarah B. [Ed.]. Women's History & Ancient History. Chapel Hill and London: The University of North Carolina Press, 138‒153.
[19] Ollier, François. 1933. Le mirage spartiate: étude sur l'idéalisation de Sparte dans l'antiquité grecque de l'origine jusqu'aux cyniques . Paris: E. de Boccard.
[20] Ollier, François. 1943. Le mirage spartiate: étude sur l'idéalisation de Sparte dans l'antiquité grecque du début de l'école cynique jusqu'à la fin de la cite . Paris: Les Belles Lettres.
[21] Pelling, Christopher. 2002. " The Apophthegmata Regum et Imperatorum and Plutarch's Roman Lives ." In Pelling, Christopher [Ed.]. Plutarch and History. Eighteen Studies. London: The Classical Press of Wales and Duckworth, 65‒89.
[22] Pomeroy, Sarah B. 2002. Spartan Women . Oxford: Oxford University Press.
[23] Powell, Anton. 2004. " Sparta: 'A Modern Woman Imagines' " (review of Pomeroy, S. B. 2002. Spartan Women). The Classical Review, 54, 456‒467.
[24] Redfield, James. 1978. " The Women of Sparta ." The Classical Journal, 73, 146‒161.
[25] Romero González, Dámaris. 2008. " El prototype de mujer espartana en Plutarco ." In Nikolaidis, Anastasios G. [ Ed.]. The Unity of Plutarch's Work: 'Moralia' Themes in the 'Lives', Features of the 'Lives' in the 'Moralia'. Berlin – New York: Walter de Gruyter, 679‒688.
[26] Schneeweiss, Gerhart. 1979. " History and Philosophy in Plutarch. Observations on Plutarch's Lycurgus ." In Bowersock, Glen W. ‒ Burkert, Walter ‒ Putman, M. C. J. [Eds.]. Arktouros. Hellenistic Studies Presented to B.M.W. Knox. Berlin ‒ New York: Walter de Gruyter, 91‒102.
[27] Stadter, PhilipA. 2008. " Notes and Anecdotes: Observations on Cross-Genre Apophthegmata ." In Nikolaidis, Anastasios G. [Ed.]. The Unity of Plutarch's Work: 'Moralia' Themes in the 'Lives', Features of the 'Lives' in the 'Moralia'. Berlin – New York: Walter de Gruyter, 53‒66.
[28] Thommen, Lukas. 1999. " Spartanische Frauen ." Museum Helveticum, 56, 129‒149.
[29] Tigerstedt, Eugène N. 1974. The Legend of Sparta in Classical Antiquity, I . Stockholm – Göteborg – Uppsala: Almqvist & Wiksell.
[30] Tigerstedt, Eugène N. 1974. The Legend of Sparta in Classical Antiquity, II . Stockholm ‒ Göteborg ‒ Uppsala: Almqvist & Wiksell.
[31] van der Stock, Luc. 2004. " Plutarch in Plutarch: The Problem of the Hypomnemata ." In Gallo, Italo [Ed.]. La Biblioteca di Plutarco. Atti del IX Convegno plutarcheo, Pavia, 13‒15 giugno 2002. Napoli: M. D' Auria, 331‒340.
[32] Wardman, Alan. 1974. Plutarch's Lives . London: Elek.
[33] Zadorojnyi, Alexei V. 2012. " Mimesis and the (plu)past in Plutarch's Lives ." In Grethlein, Jonas ‒ Krebs, Christopher B. [Eds.]. Time and Narrative in Ancient Historiography. The 'Plupast' from Herodotus to Appian. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[34] Zweig, Bella. 1993. " The Only Women Who Give Birth to Men: A Gynocentric, Cross-Cultural View of Women in Ancient Sparta ." In DeForest, Mary [Ed.]. Women's Power, Man's Game. Essays on Classical Antiquity in Honor of Joy K. King. Wauconda: Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, 32‒53.