Spartan marriage customs

• matchmaking


  -men and women would interact as they both exercised outside near each other

  -women would heckle the boys to encourage them- if he was lazy, women would insult him and if he excelled, he would be praised
• arrangement


  -unlikely to be arranged

  -no financial aspect

  -purpose was to have strong children
• average age


  -for men, around 30

  -women, in their late teens ir early 20s as it is their physical prime and she would be more likely to survive childbirth
• ceremony 


  -bride would cut her hair short like a man's and wear men's clothes and sandals as it shows that beauty was irrelevant

  -groom would sneak out of his barracks at night and would go to the bride's house

  -he would carry her to the bed and have sex

  -before morning he would sneak back to the barracks to sleep

  -would last multiple nights
• why did they get married this way

  -more vigorous sex = healthier offspring

  -prevents couples from spending too much time together as Sparta was priority
• importance of producing kids


  -husband would lend wife to childless men

  -no adultery in sparta
• A spartan woman was burying her son. An old woman approached her and said 'you poor woman; such bad luck for you.' she replied: 'Good heavens, no. Such good luck! I gave birth to him so that he would die for Sparta and that is just what has happened '


  -patriotic

  -is proud instead of mourning because he completed his duty

  -women as passionate as men when it comes to Sparta
• A spartan woman was up for sale as a slave. She was asked what she knew how to do. She replied: 'to be faithful'


  -faithfulness is a key characteristic

  -faith to Sparta deeply instilled into her
• An ionian woman was very proud of her talent for weaving, but her spartan friend pointed to her four well-behaved four sons and said 'a decent woman should spend her time doing this and then she can be proud of the results'.


  -weaving isn't considered as a physical activity

  -sole purpose of Spartan women to create strong children

  -domestic roles unimportant