The women of ancient Sparta (Lacedaemon) were a special breed among ancient Greek women. Unlike other female Greeks, they were athletic and educated.In pursuit of physical perfection and self-dependence, Spartan women had the advantage over other Greek women. Spartan women had wide legal rights; they could own land and slaves as well as lend money. Spartan girls were given the same food rations as the boys and were allowed to drink undiluted wine.
Ancient Sparta is remembered as society with rigorous codes of training and physical exercise. In Ancient Greece, athletes competed nude. In fact, the Olympic games were conducted nude until 393 A.D. when a Christian emperor banned them because he thought they were Pagan.
The word gymnos, meaning nude, is where we get the terms gymnasium and, of course gym class. Adolescent girls were subject to strict training regime that made them every bit as fit as the guys. Classical sources list as part of a girl’s education racing, wrestling, throwing the discus and javelin and trials of strength. Both genders competed and trained in sight of the opposite gender; boys were naked, girls practiced sports either naked, too, or in light tunics which didn't cover too much. (Talk about making gym class more fun.)
The 1862 painting by Degas, “Spartan Girls Challenging Boys” depicts a group of four Spartan girls confronting five boys. One girl thrusts forward her arm, while a boy lifts his arms forming a circular opening, as if the suggesting a reversal of penetration and power. Another boy is one his knees, certainly suggestive of a submissive posture.
Spartan women wore briefer clothing than other Greek women, and word has it that they sometimes dispensed with these garments and went nude in the town if they wished, treated with the same respect as clothed people.
The most known Spartan of ancient times is legendary Helen, who was allegedly abducted by Paris and taken to Troy. Helen was such a beauty, it is said, that her husband king Menelaus of Sparta could not let her go without a fight. Thus were launched “a 1,000 ships” and the 10-year Trojan War.
