Power, Passion, and Sexuality in Ancient Greece: The Legacy of Sparta and Athens
Concerning Ancient Greece, people often think of philosophy, mythology, architecture, and literature. Many believe Ancient Greece was a united liberal and democratic country, as democracy originated there. However, this is a misconception. Many aspects of Ancient Greece have historically been misrepresented due to the romanticization of Greek life and the lack of education surrounding Ancient Greece. Ancient Greece was not a unified country. Instead, Greece consisted of separate city-states such as Athens, Sparta, Thebes, Corinth, and Argos. These city-states were diverse, each with unique characteristics and identities. With that in mind, let’s examine the two most renowned city-states: Sparta and Athens.
Sparta
Sparta and Athens were two of the most recognized city-states, each with distinct attributes. For instance, Sparta was a militaristic society where boys were shaped into fierce soldiers early in their lives. At age seven, Spartan boys left the comfort of their homes to join the agoge, a state-mandated military program that all Spartan boys were required to join. The agoge was comparable to a modern education system, except with more brutality. The first stage of the agoge was Paidēs (that is, elementary school), which introduced primary education and combat training. Next came Paidiskoi (middle through high school), which expanded on physical training through competitions and strenuous combat. The final stage was Hēbōntēs (or university), which boys reached at age twenty, by which point they had become men [1]. Once reaching Hēbōntēs, Spartan men needed to join a Syssitia, a dining hall that allowed Spartans to foster close relationships and continue their training under skilled mentors. The Syssitia was akin to a fraternity in that candidates were required to apply to these dining halls and required unanimous approval for admission. There were many ways to gain admission to a Syssitia, such as winning tournaments or earning the favor of one’s superiors. Thus, it is no understatement to say that Spartan men worked relentlessly throughout their lives. Sparta had ingrained its values into its soldiers, molding them into obedient, disciplined, and exceptionally courageous warriors. Despite these rigid values, Spartans enjoyed different freedoms. For example, Spartan women enjoyed far more liberties than those in Athens. They received the same education as men, were skilled warriors, owned property, had the freedom to choose partners, and were generally considered equal to men, which was not widespread throughout Greece [2]. Also, because Sparta was a hierarchical society that relied on slavery for labor, Spartan citizens seldom worked as laborers for survival. Instead, helots performed manual labor, and Spartans were free to do as they pleased with their time (to a certain extent). Overall, Sparta created one of the most renowned military empires we know today. However, Spartan philosophies bring up a question of what it means to be valiant. Is true courage found in obedience to orders from strict authority? Or does true courage lie in defying those commands, breaking away, and seizing one’s fate?
Athens
In contrast to Sparta, Athens was a democratic society that favored men over women and prioritized male education over military prowess. Although Athens is mainly renowned for creative expression, it also forged a daunting military. Athens, recognizing that their army paled next to Sparta, took to the ocean as a means of defense and built a formidable navy. In a war over 35 years (Greco-Persian), Athens took victory in the Battle of Salamis against Persia with their dominant navy. Although there were many more examples like this, Athens is not as widely remembered for their strong navy fleet. While Sparta prioritized physical strength and mental fortitude, Athenian men were more often involved in the arts and intellectual pursuits, with figures like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle coming from Athens.
The Athenian environment of intellectual growth also influenced the types of communication they had. One of the reasons we have so little surviving Greek literature is that the Greeks, especially Athenians, viewed writing as an inferior form of communication. Instead, notable Athenians like Socrates and Plato emphasized speeches and individual communication. However, while the Greeks placed little importance on writing as a means of rhetoric, they held poetry in high regard. For example, Plato believed that Homer’s Odyssey, while exaggerated and even deceptive, was highly influential in Greek society [3]. Poetry’s influence was also observed in legal proceedings when poetic speech swayed audiences and served as evidence [4]. Overall, art was a vital aspect of Athenian society that shaped their thinking and created a lasting legacy we know today. Their enduring influence on art is unfathomable as they laid the groundwork for lasting art movements that continue to inspire artistic freedom today.
Sexuality
One aspect of Ancient Greece that has been accurately represented is its view on homosexuality. The Greeks viewed sexuality in terms of penetration, meaning the penetrator held more power. The role of sex in Ancient Greece is highly complex. Homosexuality was prevalent in Greek society, although it was nuanced. A few scholars, such as James Davidson, argue that sexual acts were displays of affection and desire. In contrast, classical scholars like Kenneth Dover believed it was a “zero-sum game” in which being the penetrator signaled victory [5].
While the Greeks accepted homosexuality, it was mainly among young men and the elite. Sexual relationships involved power dynamics, with the active partner being seen as strong and dominant, while the passive partner was viewed as weaker and submissive. This idea is reflected through Greek mythology where figures such as Zeus, Apollo, and Achilles play the roles of conquerors. These are fierce deities renowned for their strength and abilities to ‘conquer’ men, so they naturally assumed a dominant role in sexual acts with those of the same sex.
Since there were such complex power dynamics involved in sexual relations, Greeks often looked to sexual relations as a means of furthering one’s status. To illustrate this concept, we will expand on a topic mentioned earlier. You may remember that to complete their agoge training, Spartan boys needed to join a Syssitia. However, it was difficult to stand out among other applications with similar qualifications, so Spartan boys were encouraged to earn the sexual favor of older men who would grant them positions in a Syssitia. Thus, young Spartan men would sometimes join their superiors in bed with the hope that they would take a liking to them. Given the emphasis on virility and the socialization of soldiers, homosexuality was quite prevalent within Sparta. The practice reflected the Spartan ideal of strength and submission to authority.
Despite this convention, Spartan men were to take wives and bear strong children through rather unique marriage customs. For starters, Spartans married later in their lives between the ages of 18 and 25 since this was the pinnacle of their physical strength [6]. Then, on their wedding nights, Spartans had a “kidnapping” ritual where grooms would forcefully take their wives to their new home, where they had their heads shaved and sported men’s clothing [2]. Once they were ready, they would consummate their marriage. Then, the groom returned to his barracks where he lived away from his bride, and this cycle would repeat itself, with the newlyweds “secretly” meeting at night. The idea behind separating the couple was that distance bore desire, and desire bore children. Some scholars suggest that the practice of shaving women’s heads and making them wear men’s clothing served to ease the transition from homosexuality to heterosexuality for Spartan men. However, more evidence suggests that this practice symbolized equality and highlighted the importance of women in Spartan society. Sparta relied on women to bear strong children who would continue the Spartan legacy by expanding their empire through the military. In essence, Spartan women were like engineers who created battle tanks (i.e., children) that would later serve Sparta’s cause.
In contrast, Athens expected women to conform to traditional gender roles such as femininity, motherhood, and obedience. Since Athenians made little effort to grant women power and influence, their society saw them as inferior beings. Overall, Greece’s nuanced views of sexuality, notably homosexuality, reflect the complex power dynamics of the time. Athens and Sparta held views that reflected their respective cultures, with Sparta emphasizing physical resilience and Athens emphasizing intellectual development.
In summary, it’s essential to recognize that Ancient Greece contained diverse city-states with distinct cultures. Despite their differences, Athens and Sparta reigned with dominance and engraved their legacies into history. Their profound impact on the modern world is immeasurable, and Ancient Greece will forever prevail as the land of innovation and mystique.
[1] Mark, J. J. (2021, June 15). Agoge, the Spartan Education Program. World History Encyclopedia; Joshua J. Mark. https://www.worldhistory.org/article/342/agoge-the-spartan-education-program/
[2] Pomeroy, S. B. (2002). Spartan women. Oxford University Press, USA.
[3] Griswold, C. L. (2003). Plato on rhetoric and poetry.
[4] Dorjahn, A. P. (1927). Poetry in Athenian courts. Classical Philology, 22(1), 85–93.
[5] Dover, K. J. (2016). Greek Homosexuality: With Forewords by Stephen Halliwell, Mark Masterson and James Robson. Bloomsbury Publishing.
[6] Scott, A. G. (2011). Plural marriage and the Spartan state. Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte, (H. 4), 413–424.
