For some reason whenever I watch 300 i always want to be that Spartan Queen. I think that you cant believe everything that you see in movies but that movie holds allot of truth. Women have over time gone on this roll coaster of power. But Spartan women seem to be the most different and stick out in my mind the most. Unlike any other women of there time they were aloud to own and control there own property. This is a job that mostly men have done over time. Spartan women were equal among men in Sparta, they had just as many rights and were aloud to speak there minds. They were also taught to read and write, it was more about brains then beauty. They also exercised or have athletic events that both women and men were a part of, women often ran naked in front of men as well. I for one am not brave enough to run naked but if i wanted to and i could and i was this brave i think i might. Oh and i had the body of the queen in the movie 300 i might run naked. In the movie the a Persian messenger comes to Sparta and threatens it and the Queen speaks in conversation and the Persian says " why does this women think that she can speak among men?" And the Queen replies "Because Spartan women are the only give birth to real men". That quote is very true. The Spartans believed that if women trained among men and was strong like a man that they would create strong sons. Of course in reality you can be anyone you want to be but i don't think that you can really make a strong baby that way, but they were a strong breed and people and they needed to do whatever they could to keep there strength intact. The men of Sparta on the other hand were seen as tough but they were also somewhat under minded because they listened to there wives. The movie has a good showing of that when he is thinking about kick the Persian in the whole, King Leonidas looks back at his Queen, looking at here for here approval... her option mattered to him. Well she nods in approval and he kicks the Persian in the hole. I think that Spartan men had to have complete self confidence in them self to be as strong as they are which i think in turn made it easy from they to love and respect and care about there wives more so then any other man of this time. The deal sealer for me in the movie is when the Queen go to council in front of all men to send more troops to her husband a man that she had to sleep with to get a meeting trys to black mail her and he calls her a "Whore Queen". Her return to that is she takes a sword from another Spartan and stabs him and says "you will not enjoy this for i am not your Queen". No one in that room tried to hurt her. In other cultures she would have been murdered but since she is a Spartan women she killed that man to defend her own name and self worth. If i could be like any woman in time it would be a Spartan Women.
Although it’s true that Spartan women had much more freedom than women in most other countries at that time in history, 300 isn't completely accurate. Spartan women couldn't speak in public assemblies, and while they were respected for their ability to have children, marriages between Spartan men and women weren't at all what the movie said they were like. Spartan men didn't live with their wives, they instead lived in a barracks with other men and they only visited their wives once in awhile (this made it easier for men to stay concentrated on their fighting skills, but also kept the population up) and, although men did marry, it wasn't usually for love. In Sparta, like ancient Greece, men would have love affairs with younger Spartan boys who they would teach and eventually help find a good wife (sometimes the mentors own daughter). It was also much more likely for the Spartans to kill baby girls then it was for them to kill boys (although they would kill any baby boys they thought were weak), since boys could help win a war, whereas girls were only good for having children. Also, women in Sparta weren’t educated, unlike in ancient Greece where the upper-class usually taught daughters to read and write, in Sparta girls were usually only taught athletics.
ReplyDeleteI've watch the movie 300 but never really paid attention to the women in the movie. I was more focused on the main plot. This blog gave me some information that was very appeling to me and I WANT TO BE LIKE A SPARTAN WOMEN too! It is crazy that, that long ago women had so many rights and were equal to men themselves and here we are today in the 21st century fighting for equality. What happened?
ReplyDeleteI love this movie and the Spartan Quenn image...I think that it shows a women with the freedom to speak her mind and not have the fear that women have today.I do realize that much has changed since the Spartan days but I think that women deserve more respect...although they represent themselves much differently than they used to. I would have enjoyed being a Spartan woman....LOL
ReplyDeleteI never really payed to much attention the women in the movie as much as the overall theme of the movie. I have always liked this movie and haven't gotten tired of watching it. But i would of loved to be a spartan women as well.
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