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Spartanke
Malo je ili nimalo knjiga kod nas o tome kako je pola čitave ljudske populacije živelo u staroj Grčkoj. Znamo da je ženama u antici mesto bilo u kući, da nisu imale prava da učestvuju u javnom životu, i da su, spram tadašnjeg određenja njihovog ponašanja i intelektualnih predispozicija, bile svrstavane u isti skup s decom i životinjama. Ali da li je tako bilo u svim delovima grčke civilizacije? Da li je i u ovom pogledu čudesna Sparta bila posebna? Šta su zaista radile Spartanke dok su im muževi provodili život po agogama ili u ratu? Je li Likurg izdao naređenje da se ženska novorođenčad bacaju niz litice Tajgeta? Da li su sestre jele isto koliko i braća i s koliko se godina postajalo suprugom? Kakav je bio odnos društva prema preljubi i silovanju? Jesu li žene u Sparti zaista bile nemi i nevidljivi deo društva? Ova knjiga neophodna je kao još jedno snažno svetlo koje moramo uključiti u ogromnoj sali istorije u kojoj su mnogi delovi i dalje u tami, ako verujemo u ono Historia magistra vitae est.
„Ako je spartanski patrijarhat stvorio model snalažljivosti u dosta dugom trajanju, onda su Spartanke u takvom društvenom modelu morale ostvariti nešto što sam nazvala nadsnalažljivošću: to je podrazumevalo odlično razumevanje društva, njegovih pravila i njegovih nedoslednosti.”
Svetlana Slapšak
„Ako je spartanski patrijarhat stvorio model snalažljivosti u dosta dugom trajanju, onda su Spartanke u takvom društvenom modelu morale ostvariti nešto što sam nazvala nadsnalažljivošću: to je podrazumevalo odlično razumevanje društva, njegovih pravila i njegovih nedoslednosti.”
Svetlana Slapšak
Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
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489 people want to read
About the author
Sarah B. Pomeroy
26 books61 followersSarah B. Pomeroy, Professor of Classics and History, Emerita, at Hunter College and the Graduate School of the City University of New York. She was born in New York City (1938) and earned her B.A. from Barnard College in 1957. She received her M.A. in 1959 and her Ph.D. in 1961, both from Columbia University. Pomeroy has been recognized as a leading authority on ancient Greek and Roman women since her book Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves: Women in Classical Antiquity was first published in 1975. Her other publications include Xenophon, Oeconomicus: A Social and Historical Commentary (1994), Families in Classical and Hellenistic Greece: Representations and Realities (1998), Spartan Women (2002), and, with Stanley M. Burstein, Walter Donlan, and Jennifer Tolbert Roberts, the textbooks Ancient Greece: a Political, Social, and Cultural History (4th edition, 2017) and A Brief History of Ancient Greece: Politics, Society, and Culture (3rd edition, 2011).[i]
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
November 29, 2021
3.5/5
Sara je stvarno odradila sjajan posao s obzirom na količinu podataka koji su ostali ili zapravo uopšte i postojali o ženama u Sparti, i generalno. Ja sam očekivala više, ali to je moja greška. Ipak, mislim da su neki delovi bili previše suvoparni i da se previše ponavljala, verovatno jer nije znala o čemu da piše.
Bilo kako bilo, ako vas zanima Sparta, istina o bacanju beba u provaliju i položaj žena u antici, uzmite ovu knjigu jer ćete saznati baš zanimljive informacije
Sara je stvarno odradila sjajan posao s obzirom na količinu podataka koji su ostali ili zapravo uopšte i postojali o ženama u Sparti, i generalno. Ja sam očekivala više, ali to je moja greška. Ipak, mislim da su neki delovi bili previše suvoparni i da se previše ponavljala, verovatno jer nije znala o čemu da piše.
Bilo kako bilo, ako vas zanima Sparta, istina o bacanju beba u provaliju i položaj žena u antici, uzmite ovu knjigu jer ćete saznati baš zanimljive informacije
August 21, 2016
I started out liking the premise of this book. A book on the women of Sparta! What is not to like if you're a bit of an ancient history buff.
Then as I was reading it, I noticed many, many footnotes with the author's name on them. Although Pomeroy has a a 12 page list of works cited, the ones she uses quite a lot (I really can't say most) are from articles she herself has written. This is supposed to convince me that this is a scholarly work?
To be perfectly fair, I must note that there are not very many references in the bits and pieces of ancient, somewhat contemporaneous literature that discusses women of any city state or country. (Outside of Egypt, of course.) And Pomeroy does use those bits and pieces quite a bit, extrapolating her conclusions from what those sources don't say, which is quite common in scholarly works. But relying heavily on her own work just rubs me the wrong way and leads me to the conclusion that there is something deeply flawed in her research and perhaps her conclusions.
Too bad. I REALLY wanted to like this book. But I can't help but think that Pomeroy started out with a premise and used what was available to prove that premise. That is faulty scholarship.
Then as I was reading it, I noticed many, many footnotes with the author's name on them. Although Pomeroy has a a 12 page list of works cited, the ones she uses quite a lot (I really can't say most) are from articles she herself has written. This is supposed to convince me that this is a scholarly work?
To be perfectly fair, I must note that there are not very many references in the bits and pieces of ancient, somewhat contemporaneous literature that discusses women of any city state or country. (Outside of Egypt, of course.) And Pomeroy does use those bits and pieces quite a bit, extrapolating her conclusions from what those sources don't say, which is quite common in scholarly works. But relying heavily on her own work just rubs me the wrong way and leads me to the conclusion that there is something deeply flawed in her research and perhaps her conclusions.
Too bad. I REALLY wanted to like this book. But I can't help but think that Pomeroy started out with a premise and used what was available to prove that premise. That is faulty scholarship.
June 2, 2013
There are clearly but few sources about Spartan women. Judging by this work, too few to justify a whole book dedicated to the subject. When you add to that Pomeroy's tendency to overemphasize dramatic information, this work is not an asset to modern scolarship. For instance, the practice of wife-sharing or husband-doubling is so contrary to what we know from the rest of Greece at this time and of history in general that it should be discussed with a highly critical view, but instead she repeats it as a fact and refers to it over and over. This tendency does seem to decrease the further we get into the book. Furthermore, the book lacks a good introduction into Sparta or the time period in general, which would be very beneficial to the casual reader, yet also is not informative enough to capture the eye of an expert.
I don't really think this book adds much. However, if the topic interests you, the conclusion isn't half bad.
I don't really think this book adds much. However, if the topic interests you, the conclusion isn't half bad.
April 24, 2024
A well documented, interesting and useful book. A very good reading.
November 10, 2020
Sarah B. Pomeroy has established herself as one of the leading scholars on women in antiquity. She seems to acknowledge this fact in her own introduction when she boasts that her publication, Spartan Women, is the “first full-length historical study” of this specific group. Her claim is not without merit, however, as she pieces together multiple strands of archaeological, iconographic, and artistic evidence into a mostly chronological account of women’s lives in Ancient Sparta. The book’s main content covers what would constitute a typical Spartan woman’s upbringing, beginning with education, then moving to wifehood, and then to motherhood (Chapters 1-3). After these initial chapters, Pomeroy discusses aspects that are specific to certain women across the Spartan society: the lives of elite women, the lives of lower class women, and the various roles that women may have played in religion (Chapters 4-6). The book concludes with a note on Sparta’s unique gender structure in comparison to the rest of Ancient Greek society and a detailed Appendix on the primary and secondary sources used for her work.
There are many praiseworthy qualities about Pomeroy’s book. One of them, as she professes early on in the Preface, is the fact that this is one of the first works that actively sought to establish a survey on Spartan women’s lives. Other works, such as Paul Cartledge’s article,“Spartan Wives,” describe various aspects of Spartan women’s lives, but this is the first attempt at providing an in depth account of these aspects. As a seasoned scholar of antiquity, she understands the importance of explaining the limitations to information furnished by primary and secondary sources. Her extensive consideration of these sources in the Appendix especially do her well, as it is a starting point for readers to understand the arguments that she makes throughout the book and to gain familiarity with the authors, (notably, Xenophon, Plutarch, and Alcman), and their biases.
Additionally, Pomeroy’s comparisons to other Ancient Greek societies and more modern societies is an aspect that works well in the development of her arguments. Considering that more information is generally known about Athenian affairs than those of Sparta, the comparisons between these two societies is appropriate as it characterizes Sparta. Though at times it may seem that Pomeroy is focusing on Athenian women more than Spartan women, this brief change in focus works, as information on what Sparta isn’t describes Spartan women just as well as a description on their attributes would. Pomeroy even makes the interesting connection to more recent memories of Spartan women in Chapter 3, with the invocation of an American Civil War era example. The inclusion of this anachronistic comparison in a book about antiquity initially surprised me, but I believe that it works. The more comparisons that connect to concepts modern day readers may be more familiar with, the better the reader may be able to understand the author’s argument and cross-cultural influences.
For all of this book’s successes, there undoubtedly is room for improvement. Pomeroy’s work is influential and is most likely utilized by a plethora of undergraduate institutions. If this is her primary audience, where students of varying educational backgrounds and interests convene, she should be wary of three things: first, her under-analysis of multiple primary sources; second, the omittance of a statement discussing wrongful, anachronistic notions of modern feminism; and third, her seemingly excessive use of parenthetical redirections.
Much of the scholarship surrounding topics of antiquity are based upon primary and secondary sources developed in or around the time period that an individual is studying. That in of itself is a challenge for multiple reasons, but Pomeroy makes these sources even more difficult for readers to comprehend due to her lack of analysis. Though she provides large excerpts from ancient writers such as Alcman on the superb education of young Spartan women and Aristotle on his detest for the system of land tenure, these excerpts are bookended with brief assertions that have no reasonable grounding or no comments at all. Instead, we are left with a block of text and stranded without guidance as to how these select sources contribute to her greater argument. One of the only times that Pomeroy offers her own insight onto a block quote is after a brief excerpt from W.K. Lacey’s piece on speculations regarding demographic declines, yet even then it is only a single sentence. Additional comments from Pomeroy in the aforementioned sections would have made some of her conclusions more clear or more established.
Moreover, the arguments that Pomeroy creates throughout her chapters would be stronger if she chose to expand on points as she mentions them. Rather than remind readers of points previously mentioned in earlier chapters, Pomeroy includes parenthetical directions as to where this information is located. While I agree that there are some sections where these directions are needed, simply due to the overwhelming overlap of information in many of the chapters, I find that Pomeroy’s excessive parenthetical directions disrupt the flow of the reader. In Chapter 6 alone, Pomeroy directs readers to the Appendix, Chapter 1, Chapter 3, Chapter 5, and the Conclusion in order for the reader to comprehend her argument and evidence. I understand her choice to point readers to these chapters for additional information and connections to material she is discussing, as this saves time and paper from rehashing details. However, good writing is not only brevity, but being accommodating to the reader. If the reader must constantly reshuffle pages in order to find the information that the author sees as central to the author’s argument, the reader, (particularly if the intended audience is for undergraduate students), will become disengaged from the text, struggle to see how the information connects to her greater argument, and, perhaps even most concerning, take whatever information Pomeroy provides at a given passage at face value without solid corroboration.
An example of this instance can be found during her final thoughts on Spartan wives in Chapter 2. She makes the note that one category of unmarried women is one Cicero would describe as those “refusing to bear children.” She prods readers towards Chapter 3, where she provides a brief analysis of Cicero’s quotation of an unknown source in a brief two paragraphs. However, when the reader finally reaches this argument, they may be predisposed to accept it simply on the basis that Pomeroy stated it in earlier chapters. This is not only indicative of Pomeroy’s lack of “critical source engagement,” as noted by Stephen Hodkinson, but exemplifies the work that readers must put in to connect some of the bare threads that Pomeroy is attempting to make. I would have appreciated a brief sentence or two that reconsiders any information that Pomeroy listed in previous or forthcoming chapters, rather than rely on parenthetical directions to find the argument that the author is attempting to make or build upon.
Additionally, I would have appreciated the mention of yet another caveat to Pomeroy’s research, particularly in the way that the information provided in this work is not to be used as an example of archaic feminism. Pomeroy’s work takes previously discussed information and reorients it in a way that underscores the autonomous power of Spartan women. It is an endeavor that I can respect, yet approach with some degree of caution. Pomeroy stresses at the conclusion of her book the distinctiveness of Spartan women, which might inspire modern-day feminists to erroneously place feminist ideals in ancient societies. However, as Paul Cartledge notes, these modern day feminists may be more put off to ideas of Spartan gender equality when considering “their restricted or non-existent choice in the matter or manner of acquiring a husband, they way in which they were ‘seized’ or ‘had’ as wives in the domicile of their husbands who could lend them for extra-marital procreation, and the overriding emphasis placed on their child-bearing potential and maternal roles by men.” Though Pomeroy argues that Spartan wives played an active rather than passive role in many of these cases, (which I can accept, based on the evidence that she provides surrounding instances such as bridal “captures”), I think it would do Pomeroy well to remind readers in the Appendix or the ‘Chronological Conundrums’ subheading of her Preface that none of the evidence is indicative of some, yet very limited, female agency, and not utopian Spartan gender equality. As she reminds readers multiple times the limitations of ancient sources, adding in the occasional reminder of the limitations of her argument being representative of “ancient feminism” would be beneficial to the modern reader that she consistently mentions.
Like its predecessor Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves, Pomeroy’s Spartan Women has introduced a comprehensive view on the lives of women in antiquity. Though this piece is not without faults, it is an important step in advancing historians’ understanding of the ancient past. I would have appreciated, in general, more discussion from Pomeroy, as opposed to unanalyzed block quotes and parenthetical redirections, but I can likewise praise the well laid-out content that Pomery has created in order to further nuance previously confirmed knowledge of Spartan women and inspire further study within this particular field.
There are many praiseworthy qualities about Pomeroy’s book. One of them, as she professes early on in the Preface, is the fact that this is one of the first works that actively sought to establish a survey on Spartan women’s lives. Other works, such as Paul Cartledge’s article,“Spartan Wives,” describe various aspects of Spartan women’s lives, but this is the first attempt at providing an in depth account of these aspects. As a seasoned scholar of antiquity, she understands the importance of explaining the limitations to information furnished by primary and secondary sources. Her extensive consideration of these sources in the Appendix especially do her well, as it is a starting point for readers to understand the arguments that she makes throughout the book and to gain familiarity with the authors, (notably, Xenophon, Plutarch, and Alcman), and their biases.
Additionally, Pomeroy’s comparisons to other Ancient Greek societies and more modern societies is an aspect that works well in the development of her arguments. Considering that more information is generally known about Athenian affairs than those of Sparta, the comparisons between these two societies is appropriate as it characterizes Sparta. Though at times it may seem that Pomeroy is focusing on Athenian women more than Spartan women, this brief change in focus works, as information on what Sparta isn’t describes Spartan women just as well as a description on their attributes would. Pomeroy even makes the interesting connection to more recent memories of Spartan women in Chapter 3, with the invocation of an American Civil War era example. The inclusion of this anachronistic comparison in a book about antiquity initially surprised me, but I believe that it works. The more comparisons that connect to concepts modern day readers may be more familiar with, the better the reader may be able to understand the author’s argument and cross-cultural influences.
For all of this book’s successes, there undoubtedly is room for improvement. Pomeroy’s work is influential and is most likely utilized by a plethora of undergraduate institutions. If this is her primary audience, where students of varying educational backgrounds and interests convene, she should be wary of three things: first, her under-analysis of multiple primary sources; second, the omittance of a statement discussing wrongful, anachronistic notions of modern feminism; and third, her seemingly excessive use of parenthetical redirections.
Much of the scholarship surrounding topics of antiquity are based upon primary and secondary sources developed in or around the time period that an individual is studying. That in of itself is a challenge for multiple reasons, but Pomeroy makes these sources even more difficult for readers to comprehend due to her lack of analysis. Though she provides large excerpts from ancient writers such as Alcman on the superb education of young Spartan women and Aristotle on his detest for the system of land tenure, these excerpts are bookended with brief assertions that have no reasonable grounding or no comments at all. Instead, we are left with a block of text and stranded without guidance as to how these select sources contribute to her greater argument. One of the only times that Pomeroy offers her own insight onto a block quote is after a brief excerpt from W.K. Lacey’s piece on speculations regarding demographic declines, yet even then it is only a single sentence. Additional comments from Pomeroy in the aforementioned sections would have made some of her conclusions more clear or more established.
Moreover, the arguments that Pomeroy creates throughout her chapters would be stronger if she chose to expand on points as she mentions them. Rather than remind readers of points previously mentioned in earlier chapters, Pomeroy includes parenthetical directions as to where this information is located. While I agree that there are some sections where these directions are needed, simply due to the overwhelming overlap of information in many of the chapters, I find that Pomeroy’s excessive parenthetical directions disrupt the flow of the reader. In Chapter 6 alone, Pomeroy directs readers to the Appendix, Chapter 1, Chapter 3, Chapter 5, and the Conclusion in order for the reader to comprehend her argument and evidence. I understand her choice to point readers to these chapters for additional information and connections to material she is discussing, as this saves time and paper from rehashing details. However, good writing is not only brevity, but being accommodating to the reader. If the reader must constantly reshuffle pages in order to find the information that the author sees as central to the author’s argument, the reader, (particularly if the intended audience is for undergraduate students), will become disengaged from the text, struggle to see how the information connects to her greater argument, and, perhaps even most concerning, take whatever information Pomeroy provides at a given passage at face value without solid corroboration.
An example of this instance can be found during her final thoughts on Spartan wives in Chapter 2. She makes the note that one category of unmarried women is one Cicero would describe as those “refusing to bear children.” She prods readers towards Chapter 3, where she provides a brief analysis of Cicero’s quotation of an unknown source in a brief two paragraphs. However, when the reader finally reaches this argument, they may be predisposed to accept it simply on the basis that Pomeroy stated it in earlier chapters. This is not only indicative of Pomeroy’s lack of “critical source engagement,” as noted by Stephen Hodkinson, but exemplifies the work that readers must put in to connect some of the bare threads that Pomeroy is attempting to make. I would have appreciated a brief sentence or two that reconsiders any information that Pomeroy listed in previous or forthcoming chapters, rather than rely on parenthetical directions to find the argument that the author is attempting to make or build upon.
Additionally, I would have appreciated the mention of yet another caveat to Pomeroy’s research, particularly in the way that the information provided in this work is not to be used as an example of archaic feminism. Pomeroy’s work takes previously discussed information and reorients it in a way that underscores the autonomous power of Spartan women. It is an endeavor that I can respect, yet approach with some degree of caution. Pomeroy stresses at the conclusion of her book the distinctiveness of Spartan women, which might inspire modern-day feminists to erroneously place feminist ideals in ancient societies. However, as Paul Cartledge notes, these modern day feminists may be more put off to ideas of Spartan gender equality when considering “their restricted or non-existent choice in the matter or manner of acquiring a husband, they way in which they were ‘seized’ or ‘had’ as wives in the domicile of their husbands who could lend them for extra-marital procreation, and the overriding emphasis placed on their child-bearing potential and maternal roles by men.” Though Pomeroy argues that Spartan wives played an active rather than passive role in many of these cases, (which I can accept, based on the evidence that she provides surrounding instances such as bridal “captures”), I think it would do Pomeroy well to remind readers in the Appendix or the ‘Chronological Conundrums’ subheading of her Preface that none of the evidence is indicative of some, yet very limited, female agency, and not utopian Spartan gender equality. As she reminds readers multiple times the limitations of ancient sources, adding in the occasional reminder of the limitations of her argument being representative of “ancient feminism” would be beneficial to the modern reader that she consistently mentions.
Like its predecessor Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves, Pomeroy’s Spartan Women has introduced a comprehensive view on the lives of women in antiquity. Though this piece is not without faults, it is an important step in advancing historians’ understanding of the ancient past. I would have appreciated, in general, more discussion from Pomeroy, as opposed to unanalyzed block quotes and parenthetical redirections, but I can likewise praise the well laid-out content that Pomery has created in order to further nuance previously confirmed knowledge of Spartan women and inspire further study within this particular field.
January 27, 2024
bueno... tuvo interesante... anque nun volvería a lleelu otra vegada.
May 12, 2019
Few primary sources exist about Sparta from any era of the Ancient Greek world. Those that do tend to be written by non-Spartans who held clear biases either for or against the Spartans; others still were written well after the fall of Sparta, seeking to resurrect such lost glories as likely never truly existed, the so called "Spartan mirage" that still holds sway to this day.
In Spartan Women, author Sarah Pomeroy examines the meagre research from a lens of even greater obscurity, that of Spartan women. The result is a fascinating exploration into lives female Spartans, including their education, their becoming a wives and mothers, their experiences with religion, and how experiences differed among elite women vs. free noncitizen women vs. helot women (state-owned slaves).
Although the book is arranged by subject rather than chronologically, Pomeroy makes a good attempt under each heading to discuss how Spartan society changed from the Archaic period to the time of legendary lawmaker Lycurgus to Sparta's fall during the Hellenistic period, at the same time teasing out for further discussion elements that are likely part of the Spartan mirage.
Because the sources are so few, the same facts are often used across multiple subjects when they speak to (or at least allude to) more than one aspect of Spartan women's experiences. This does make the book feel a bit repetitive the further along one reads, and perhaps argues for the book having been arranged in a different way.
Still, Spartan Women well accomplished what it sets out to do, and seems as thorough as is archaeologically possible. Women in Sparta enjoyed a much higher quality of life and societal value than almost any other women in the ancient world. This book offers a unique glimpse and analysis into an area of history that, both for good and for ill, continues to capture the modern imagination.
In Spartan Women, author Sarah Pomeroy examines the meagre research from a lens of even greater obscurity, that of Spartan women. The result is a fascinating exploration into lives female Spartans, including their education, their becoming a wives and mothers, their experiences with religion, and how experiences differed among elite women vs. free noncitizen women vs. helot women (state-owned slaves).
Although the book is arranged by subject rather than chronologically, Pomeroy makes a good attempt under each heading to discuss how Spartan society changed from the Archaic period to the time of legendary lawmaker Lycurgus to Sparta's fall during the Hellenistic period, at the same time teasing out for further discussion elements that are likely part of the Spartan mirage.
Because the sources are so few, the same facts are often used across multiple subjects when they speak to (or at least allude to) more than one aspect of Spartan women's experiences. This does make the book feel a bit repetitive the further along one reads, and perhaps argues for the book having been arranged in a different way.
Still, Spartan Women well accomplished what it sets out to do, and seems as thorough as is archaeologically possible. Women in Sparta enjoyed a much higher quality of life and societal value than almost any other women in the ancient world. This book offers a unique glimpse and analysis into an area of history that, both for good and for ill, continues to capture the modern imagination.
February 8, 2022
Sve je ovo moglo na ispod sto strana. Autorka je na početku knjige rekla da o spartankama ima premalo validnih informacija, ali zelja da se napise knjiga, a ne solidan naucni rad doveo je do toga da se bezbroj puta ponavlja i razvlaci. Pritom su reference uglavnom na njene radove, malo mi je to blah.
Ipak, bilo je zabavno citati o spartankama, bas su bile impresivne, zene sa kojima se u ono vreme nije smelo zezati.
Ipak, bilo je zabavno citati o spartankama, bas su bile impresivne, zene sa kojima se u ono vreme nije smelo zezati.
November 23, 2022
Iskreno sam ocekivala vise od ove knjige,ali ni sama nisam sigurna sta.
Dopala mi se,naucila sam svasta nesto interesantno iz nje sto nisam znala.Ali sve ovo je moglo i na manje od 200 stranica.Autorka je u pravu kada kaze da informacija nema dovoljno,i zbog toga mnoge stvari su se ponavljale po vise puta.
Ali svakako mi je drago da sam je procitala.
Dopala mi se,naucila sam svasta nesto interesantno iz nje sto nisam znala.Ali sve ovo je moglo i na manje od 200 stranica.Autorka je u pravu kada kaze da informacija nema dovoljno,i zbog toga mnoge stvari su se ponavljale po vise puta.
Ali svakako mi je drago da sam je procitala.
January 21, 2023
While it was very interesting to read about Spartan women, this book often got me confused and had portions that seemed to contradict each other. It could be reader error, though! This is a pretty niche topic and academic book (I read for Hist 337, Women in the Ancient World, at WSU).
October 19, 2022
Well written and good amount of interesting facts and details.
July 11, 2023
Brilliant research book. Got so much information out of it about Spartan society which meant I was able to write my fictional romance authentic to the time.
July 29, 2024
Good insight of spartan women life but I felt I am reading research and in history I prefer the engaging narrative more
December 20, 2025
Not a book for laywomen beginners like myself, but still interesting all the same! I’m sure a more informed reader would take away far more specificities that flew well over my head.
March 18, 2024
Extensive &incredibly interesting. Highly recommend
February 20, 2017
Was a very informative book on the lives of Spartiate women in classical Greece. I used it as my main secondary source on a college research project. However, I feel that it could have provided a little more information on Sparta during the Roman period.
August 26, 2015
Researching the lives of Spartan women can be a difficult task at best, with most (if not all) of the historical sources coming from not just outside observers of Spartan culture but from men who would have little to no understanding of the intimate lives of women in their own social circles (let alone in a city-state they're often so at odds with). However, Sarah B. Pomeroy's meticulous research and careful pulling together of multiple sources of historical and archaeological evidence has created a very readable and very informative text on the lives of these women. It was, in fact, one of the central sources I used for my own bachelor's thesis on the lives of ancient women in militaristic societies, and is one that I would recommend to any interested in women and their place in history.
October 14, 2012
I've always felt akin to that people and times. People have a funny idea of what life was like many many centuries ago but people have the same wants, desires, fears and tragedies and triumphs. A spare life does not mean an unfulfilled life. And one gets a taste of that and especially from a female perspective. They were afforded many "luxuries" we do not have this day.
May 5, 2015
This is not my field, but I understand why Pomeroy is so well known and respected. This book is, in my view, extremely well done and highly informative. If I could understand sources from antiquity better, I'd give it 5 stars. I just am never sure about methodology during this time period. But, from what I can tell -- it's flawless! :)
February 17, 2012
Good job. Thoroughly researched for a field with so few records. A bit dry at times, but that is in the nature of the subject and its sources. Very good overall.
October 18, 2015
An excellent overview of the place of women in Spartan society.
November 19, 2015
Helpful with term paper :)
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews