Spartan Women Among the Romans: Adapting Models, Forging Identities Author(S): Sarah B

Spartan Women among the Romans: Adapting Models, Forging Identities Author(s): Sarah B. Pomeroy Source: Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome. Supplementary Volumes, Vol. 7, Role Models in the Roman World. Identity and Assimilation (2008), pp. 221-234 Published by: University of Michigan Press for the American Academy in Rome Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40379356 . Accessed: 04/07/2014 09:41

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This content downloaded from 146.96.24.14 on Fri, 4 Jul 2014 09:41:17 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 11 ♦ SPARTANWOMEN AMONG THE ROMANS: ADAPTING MODELS, FORGING IDENTITIES SarahB. Pomeroy

did the Romansdistinguish respectable Greek womenfrom Romans? Why did they considerSpartans different from the others? In thischapter I willdiscuss the complex and changingrelationship between gender and ethnicidentity. I selected the Spartans for this investiga- tionbecause theywere the most distinctive and ethnicallyidentifiable of Greekwomen. "Ethnic identity"refers to inheritedcultural traits that are often observable only by comparison with people who do notexhibit these traits. Ethnic identities can be carvedout by members of the group being defined,by establishing similarities among them, or maybe conferredby outsiders. For thisstudy I use postcolonialtheory as currentlyapplied by ancient historians and feminist theorythat has becometraditional among historians of women. I firstcombined these approaches in Womenin Hellenistic Egypt, looking at theinteraction between Greek settlers and Egyptiansand theireclectic participation in themixed culture of Ptolemaic Egypt.1 In thatwork I showedthat the rateand qualityof Hellenization varied according to genderand thatconquest did notresult in the imperialpower overwhelming and eradicatingthe indigenous contribution to therelationship. In thefollowing chapter I applythis model to Spartanwomen under Roman domination.

LiteraryModels

We willlook first at the west, then east across the Adriatic, beginning with images of Spartan women in Romanliterature. Of courseall Romanswith any education would be familiarwith Helen as she is depictedin epic.The firstSpartan woman described in literaturewas beautiful,wealthy, daring, deceitful,and, as a maturewoman, chose her own husband; she was thearchetypal "power blonde." DoubtlessHomer's Helen was theultimate model for allusions to Spartanwomen in Latinpoetry. Cicero(Tusc. 2.36) quotesa verseabout Spartan maidens engaging in wrestlingand militaryexer- cise.Propertius (3.14) describesa Spartanwoman wrestling nude with men, boxing, throwing the discus,hunting, riding, girding on a sword,wearing her hair in a simplestyle, and walkingopenly withher lover without fear of some husband. The poetwishes his mistress Cynthia would choose to livewith him thus. Ovid (Her. 16.151-52)depicts Helen wrestlingnude. Vergil (Georg. 2.487-88) refersto theloud voicesof Spartangirls celebrating Bacchus in themountains. It was in prose,however, that intellectuals in the Romanworld considered Spartan women as a groupthat had evolvedin a specificsocial context.Romans thought that the Spartanpoliti- - cal system- withits mixed constitution, checks and balances,and governmentby theelite was comparableto theirown and farmore congenial than the democracy of Athens.2 If to theRomans 2 Pomeroy 1984,121, 124, 130, 135-36,152-53. For affinitiesbetween Rome and Sparta:Baladie 1980, 293-95.

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Greecewas "theother," it was theGreece of Athens.In Greekthought, on theother hand, most ofwhich emanated from Athens, Sparta functioned as "theother." It followsthat both Rome and Spartawere similar to eachother in being different from Athens. Discussions of differences between Romanand Greekmores focused on subtledistinctions between the laws of Numa and Romulus, on theone hand,and ofLycurgus on theother. Prose writers variously praised and criticizedprovi- sionsfor women and marriagein archaicRome and Sparta.Referring to Spartans,Cicero (Rep. 4.6) prefersRoman to Greekrules about women, advocating that a censorteach men to governtheir wivesrather than, as theGreeks do, allowwomen to be supervisedby a gynaikonomos("praefectus," a magistratein chargeof women), a postthat was commonin HellenisticGreek states.3 Certainly Aristotle'scritique of the Spartan constitution and his condemnationof women not only for licen- tiousnessbut also forthe failure of thestate would have inevitably constituted part of thediscus- sion,as it does explicitlyin Plutarch'sLife of Lycurgus (14.1), where he statesplainly that Aristotle was incorrect.Nevertheless, in his Comparisonof Lycurgus and Numa (3.5) Plutarch,in agreement withCicero, praises the demeanor of Roman women as theywere said to be in thearchaic period, whenthey were under their husband's control, and he criticizesthe laws of Lycurgus that allowed Spartanwomen to dominatetheir husbands. Plutarch'sviews were influenced by Plato and Xenophon,both of whomwere also popular amongthe Romans. Plato's Republic was a Utopiathat incorporated elements of an idealizedSparta, nota blueprintfor any actual society. Yet some Romans considered the Republic a "how-to"manual presentingrole models for them rather than a workof social criticism.Epictetus reported that at Romewomen were carrying copies of Plato'sRepublic because theysupposed that he advocated communitiesof wives.They were quotingPlato to justifytheir own licentiousness,he alleged, but theymisinterpreted him in supposingthat his advicewas to entermonogamous marriage and thenpractice promiscuous intercourse.4 Xenophon 's pictureof Sparta was closerto thetruth than the reflectionin Plato's Republic,5but althoughRoman authorscite some worksof Xenophon specifically,there are no clearreferences in Latin to his treatiseon theSpartan Constitution.6 In anycase, if the Romans did not actuallyread Xenophon 's monograph,they nevertheless will have gottenthe informationat second hand throughPlutarch, an admirerof Xenophon.7Xenophon willhave been one ofhis informantsabout the daily life of Spartangirls, including their excellent nutrition,drinking wine, physical training, and freedomfrom weaving (which was the usual job of Greekwomen). Plutarch had been to Romeand Spartaand wrotefor both Greek and Roman audiences.8He participatedto the fullestin the debateon Spartanand Romanwomen. Though Plutarch'savowed subject is thewomen of the remote past, there is no doubtthat he is influenced by his contemporaries.Plutarch largely approves of the healthyregimen Lycurgus designed for Spartangirls and, as I havementioned, asserts that Aristotle was wrongto accuse Spartanwomen oflicentiousness: but his ideas and ideals concerningthe appropriate behavior of Greekwomen, exceptSpartans, are essentiallyconservative and traditionalin theGreek world, and barelyreflect thechanges of the Hellenistic period.9 3 SinceCicero mentions drinking, and was discussingSparta 6Munscherl920,63,106. inthe previous paragraph, he is probablyreferring to Spartan 7 women. On Plutarchand Xenophon,see Pomeroy1999b, 36, and 4 passim. Arr.Epict. diss. Fr. 15 = Stobaeus3.6.58 and see Schenkl 8 1965,455-60, 462-75. See mostrecently Stadter 2002.

5 See further 9 Miinscher1920, 51, 63, 107,114 and Pomeroy See furtherPomeroy 1999b and Nevett2002, esp. 84, 2002, 148-49. 87-88, 95.

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TheInfluence of Ethnic Identity on GenderRoles

Like the Spartanwomen Aristotle had criticized(but unlikeother Greek women), Romans were neithersilent nor secluded.10 Both Sparta and Romewere warrior societies ruling alien territories, withthe result that long absences of men left women in charge.Aristotle did notapprove of women exercisingsuch power in defaultof men.In bothSparta and Rome somewomen controlled vast amountsof wealth that had comeinto their hands through dowry and inheritance.Since the fourth centuryB.C. Spartan women were conspicuous in theirownership and managementof real property and otherforms of wealth. In imperialSparta economic status was stillbased on landholding,and Romansrespected that indication of old wealth.Aristotle {Pol 1269bl2-1270a34)had criticizedthe Spartansfor allowing women to ownso muchproperty that some men could no longercontribute to theirsyssitia and losttheir status as fullcitizens. The Romans,on theother hand, beginning with thelex Voconia(169 B.C.),repeatedly tried to preventwomen from obtaining large fortunes, fearing lestmen might lose theirrank in thehigher property classes in thecensus and thusbecome exempt fromheavy military obligations.11 In bothSparta and Rome one ofthe reasons women acquired wealth was thatfamilies were smaller,and womenwere oftenthe sole survivors.Although there was a generaldecrease in the populationof Greece in thelate Hellenisticand earlyRoman periods,12 and a particularly lamenteddecrease among the upper class, both Spartan and Romanwomen were singled out for blame.Cicero (Tusc.2.36) declaredthat the Spartans rejected fertilitas barbara and thatRoman womenrepeatedly procured abortions was a cliche amongAugustan writers.13 Thus moralists agreedthat women, whose consciousgoal was not onlykeeping their bodies unmarredbut also maintainingeconomic and social statusby securinglarge estates for themselves and transmitting themto theiroffspring, selfishly created oliganthropia. One unusualsolution to thisproblem was adopted. A Spartanwoman who was alreadymarried and had borne childrencould produce childrenfor another man while remainingmarried to her originalhusband. Wife-lendingor husband-sharingthat had been unique to Spartans(among Greeks) can also be foundamong theRomans. The youngerCato, paragonof Stoicvirtue, divorced his wifeMarcia aftershe had borne threechildren to him and gave her to his friendHortensius Hortalus, with whom she producedtwo morechildren.14 After Hortensius died, Cato remarriedMarcia (she musthave been a Stoic too, unlessshe was simplydocile and devotedto Cato). Plutarch(Comparison of Lycurgusand Numa 3.1-2) prefersthe serialmonogamy of the Romansto the concurrenthus- bands of the Spartans. Symbolicsimilarities were obvious in the respected and powerful position of Roman and Spartan mothers.For Romanmoralists, including Valerius Maximus, Aelian, Sextus Empiricus, and others, thefamous mothers of Sparta as wellas thoseof their own early and middlerepublic served as ex- emplarsto "new-style"Roman women, who left the rearing of their children to outsidersor rejected motherhoodcompletely.15 Furthermore, at leastin theideal past, Spartan and Romanwomen were activelypatriotic, heroic, and expectedto upholdcivic ideals. Spartan mothers like the mother of

13 10Pomeroy1975, 181. Referencesin Riddle1992, 64-65. 11 14 See furtherPomeroy 1975, 177-82 and Gardner1986, Luc. Phars.2.326-71; Plut.Cat. Min. 25.4-5. 170-78. 15Pomeroy2002,156. 12Polyb.36.16.5-9; Alcock 1989a, esp. 105-7.

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Coriolanusreminded their sons of their patriotic duties.16 They hectored and supportedmen, includ- ingnot only their sons but candidatesseeking political office. In Spartaand Romewealthy widows wereespecially prominent among women engaged in thesestrategies. Patriotism and Stoicismare themesin thestories told of both,mainly by Plutarchand Livy.Plutarch paints vivid pictures of Spartanwomen digging trenches as a defenseagainst Pyrrhus and offemale relatives and associates ofthe kings Agis IV and CleomenesIII likethe wife of Pantheus in thesaga ofCleomenes, who is a valiantheroine on horsebackand who could be comparedto Cloelia,immortalized by an equestrian statuein Rome.17The restof theGreek world had no storiesto rivalthose of Spartanwomen. Stoicismfound adherents among both Spartan women and Romans.The Stoicismof Agiatis, wifefirst of Agis and then of Cleomenes, and ofCratesicleia, Cleomenes' mother, influenced Spartan domesticand foreignpolicy. Cratesicleia and thewife of Pantheus died dignifiedStoic deaths upon theorder of Ptolemy IV (Plut.Cleom. 37-39). Similarly,several Roman matrons in theearly empire choseto die in Stoicfashion as a rebuffto emperorswho had sentencedtheir husbands to death. Justas thewife of Panteus had encouragedCratesicleia, so did theRoman women set examples for theirhusbands. The virtuousArria chose to die withher husband, valiantly preceding him: handing to Paetusthe sword she had drawnfrom her own breast, she said, "Paete,non dolet"ls As partof their identity, people station themselves in a hierarchyof social status that provides an avenueto rightsand disabilities.Thus Spartanswere taught that they were superior to theirhelots, and thehelots, in turn,were encouraged to feelthemselves inferior, by being treated as subhuman and forcedto wear primitiveclothing. Spartan women were also smuglysecure in theirfeelings of superiorityover other Greek women. Plutarch quotes many of them,including an anonymous Spartanwoman who was consciousof her ethnic distinctiveness and articulatedit: When an Ionian womanwas proudof somethingshe had woven,a Spartanshowed off her four well-behaved sons and said: "theseshould be thework of a noble and honorablewoman, and she shouldswell with prideand boastof them" (Sayings of Spartan Women 241.9). We observe,in passing,the competi- tivenature of theSpartan's retort and are remindedof a similarstatement attributed to Cornelia, motherof the Gracchi, who, when asked why she did notwear fine pearls, replied that her children " 19 wereher "jewels.

ContemporaryModels

Not onlyliterature but eyewitnessreports from influential sources helped to shape Romanideas about Spartanwomen. In 40 B.C.during the civilwars Livia and herfamily, including the infant Tiberius,enjoyed refuge at Sparta.One nightshe had to race througha forestfire that scorched herdress and hair.20This perilousincident shows that Sparta was stillforested, as theallusions in Propertiusand Vergilto womenin thewilderness attest (see above).Sparta and Mantinea were the onlyGreek cities to back Octavian.In gratitudefor their support, later while visiting Greece in 21 B.C.,Augustus awarded Cythera to Spartaand honoredthe Spartans with the right to shareRoman

16 Plutarch,Sayings of Spartan Women, 240f2, 241.1-6; Livy Constant.16. 2.40.1-12. 19 ValeriusMaximus 4.4, and see 17 quotingPomponius Rufus, Plut.Pyrrh. 27.2-5; Cleom.38.5; and Plin.HN 34.29. furtherDixon 1988. 18 20 Death of Arria:Plin. Ep. 3.16.6; Mart. 1.13; forothers: Suet. Tib.6.2; Veil.Pat. 2.75.3; and see furtherCartledge Tac. Ann. 16.10-11; Plin. Ep. 6.24; Stoic behavior:Sen. and Spawforth1989, 98-99, 102.

This content downloaded from 146.96.24.14 on Fri, 4 Jul 2014 09:41:17 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions SPARTANWOMEN AMONG THE ROMANS 225 banquets(Dio 54.7.2). AfterLivia s deathin 29 or deificationin 42, annualgames were established in herhonor at Sparta.All we knowabout these celebrations is thatthey included races for women requiringrunning a double course.21Thus althoughRoman imperial cult was theinspiration for thegames, and doubtlessa portraitof Livia would have been broughtout to observethe events, thefocus on competitionsfor female athletes seems peculiarly Spartan.22 Spartacontinued to be a destinationfor Roman tourists. Although the small size of the Spartan populationcould haveled themto assimilate,this attention from outsiders was one of thefactors thatencouraged them to preservetheir ethnic distinctiveness. Women played a partin theshow the Spartansput on to attractvisitors, perhaps because oftheir costume. The Spartanswere the most visibleamong the ethnic group of Dorians, and Doriazeinis definedas "to dresslike a Doriangirl, thatis in a singlegarment open at theside," and "to imitatethe Dorians in life."23Thus the wearing of revealingclothing, as well as thelack of it,for athletic and ritualpurposes marked differences betweenSpartans and otherGreek women and contributedto theracy reputation of theformer, reflectedin bothAristotle's accusation of licentiousness and in Romanliterature.

RevivingTraditional Identities

Literaryand historicalmodels influenced the Spartans themselves, for they were pedantic students oftheir own traditions, which they manipulated often without distinguishing between their idealized andhistorical past. Visitors to RomanSparta would have seen the unique educational system of boys andgirls called the "agoge" and havebeen told that Lycurgus had createdit nearly a thousandyears ago. The agogewas terminatedin 188 B.C.,but a newversion was revivedunder Roman domination in 146 B.C.and surviveduntil the fourth century.24 The mostmemorable feature of the final agoge was thewhipping contest in honorof Artemis Orthia in whichboys were whipped so severelythat someof themdied. The priestessof Artemis Orthia monitored the relationship between the male adultswielding the whips and theyouths, making certain that the adults did notplay favorites or acceptbribes and thatall boys were whipped equally (Paus. 3.16.10, Plut. Lye. 18). Thisdisplay may havebeen redesignedin imperialGreece with more gore than in thepast to satisfythe taste of the periodfor bloody spectacle. Accounts of this ordeal mention that fathers and motherscheered for theiroffspring in thiscompetition, like the proverbial Spartans, preferring their son to be a dead herorather than a defeatedcoward.25 The educationof Spartangirls was similarto thatof boyswithout its extremesurvival tests. Spartanwomen will have found much that was enjoyableand thatthey would have been reluctant to relinquishthrough assimilation. Plutarch (Inst. Lac. 35 [239b],Lye. 14.2) corroborates the reports of theRoman poets, stating that the curriculum consisted of running,wrestling, discus throwing, and hurlingthe javelin. Although the education of girls in HellenisticGreece was morewidespread thanit had been in theclassical period, and includedphysical training (Arist. Pol. 1337b),athletic prowess,competitiveness, and athleticnudity were stilla distinguishingfeature and source of Spartanpride. Imperial writers associated Dorians with athletics. For example,Agrippa called the

21 23 In SEG 11 830 thecity commemorates a woman's victory LSJs.v. Doriazo II = dorizo. in thediaulos. On ludicelebrated in honorof both Livia and 24 Augustus:PIR 1970,5.1:77-78 s.v.Livia. Kennell1995, 13-14. 22 25 For the imperialcult of Livia in Sparta,see Bartman Stat.Theb. 8436-37; LudmAnach. 38-39; and see further 1999,esp.73. Kennell1995, appendix 1.

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gymnasiumhe constructedat Rome "Laconian."26The establishmentof thewomen's race at the Liviangames indicates that the Romans were well aware that the Spartan women of their own day werestill an essentialpart of the Spartan ethnic identity. Pausanias(3.13.7) mentions Dionysiades, girls who participated in racesat Spartaorganized by magistratescalled "bideoi." The involvementof magistrates shows that in the Roman period the state was concernedwith girls' physical education as it had been evena thousandyears earlier. Thus this involvementwas partof the recreation of the past; but it can alsobe seenas partof a calculatedcam- paignto deployboth genders in a smallpopulation with a goalof preserving its unique identity. Girls also continuedto performtraditional dances at thesanctuary of Artemis at Caryaenear the northeast borderof Spartan territory.27 Since these dances were said to havebeen taught to thegirls by Castor andPollux, the movements must have been quite athletic. Roman writers' references to nudewomen engagingin coed contactsports, however, are not impeccable evidence, for their purpose was to titil- late.Coed athleticswere probably not part of the first two versions of the agoge but may have been a featurein the imperial phase. Exploiting this caricature, in the time of Nero a Spartanwoman wrestled at Romewith a Romansenator.28 Of coursethere must have been less notoriousand morehumble Spartanwomen to be seenat Rometoo. For example,an inscriptionfrom a columbariumnear San Laurentiiextra muros commemorates Artemo from Laconia, wife of Sabinus, dead at 14.29 Thucydides(1.10) had observedthat future generations could not have deduced the power of Spartafrom its paltry architectural remains. Sparta, however, was notdesolate: the few pre-Roman monumentsin thecity and at pan-Hellenicsanctuaries were well chosen to remindthe viewer that Spartans- womenno lessthan men - werenotably brave, pious, and habitually victorious. Pausanias describessome of the material remains of Sparta's glorious past that survived in hisday. Visitors to thetemple of Hera at Elis wouldhave seen many bronze statues dedicated by girl runners who had won victoriesthere.30 Most, if not all of them,were probably Spartans. Trophies at Olympiaitself relevantto women'shistory included two equestrian monuments erected early in thefourth century B.C.by Cynisca, daughter and sisterof Spartankings, who was thefirst woman whose horses were victoriousat Olympia.31 In thecity of SpartaCynisca was also celebratedwith a heroonprominently located near the youths'exercise grounds. The mostmagnificent structure in theSpartan agora was thePersian stoa. This building,described by Vitruviusand Pausanias,was constructedwith spoils of thePersian War and commemoratedthe city'sgreatest victory.32 It housed statuesof thevanquished in bar- baricdress. The figureof Artemisia, queen ofHalicarnassus, placed within might have brought to mindthe dreaded Cleopatra VII, a morerecent admiral-queen from the east. Xerxes had admired Artemisia'smaneuvers at Salamis,ramming the ship of a Persianally in orderto confusethe Greeks as to whichside she was on,but only a madmanwould have been pleased with such selfish behavior (Herod. 8.87). Romansmight have comparedthe strategyof Cleopatraat Actium.Her desireto

30 26Plut.Lye. 20.5; Dio Chrys.Or. 37.26-27; Cass. Dio 53.27; See furtherPomeroy 2002, x-xi,24-25. and see furtherSpawforth and Walker1986, esp. 100. 31Paus.6.1.6= Anth.Pal. 13.16= /Gv.l 1564a= I Olympia, 27Lucian^/A10; Paus. 3.10.7;Poll. 4.104; Stat. Theb. 4.225; no. 160 = IAG, no. 17, and I Olympia,nos. 373, 381. On Diom., book 3, p. 486 (H. Keil, Gramm.Lat. 1). Clearchus the commemorativemonuments, see Frazer 1913,vols. 3, gave Tissaphernesa ringshowing the maidensdancing at 4, ad loc. Caryae(Plut. Artax. 18). 32 Paus. Vitr. and see furtherPlommer 28 3.11.3; 1.1.6; 1979, Schol.Juv. 4.53; IAG, 168,for the Neronian date. esp. 100.

29LGPN s.v.Artemo (4) second/thirdcentury a.d.

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save herselfand herships above all tiltedan equivocalsituation in favorof Octavian(Plut. Ant. 63.5, 66.3). The Spartanssupported Roman campaigns in theeast because theyequated the Par- thianswith the Persians, whom they had defeatedin thefifth century B.C. (Herodian 4.8.3, 4.9.4). Inscriptionsin thePersian Stoa attestto thecult of Elagabalus there, and lateradditions include a statueof his wife, the Vestal Julia Aquilia Severa.33 Elagabalus considered himself a descendantof Caracallaand heirto theearlier emperor's eastern campaigns. Julia Domna was anotherSeveran honoredby a hugemonument.34

GreekIdentity: Adapting Models

Spartanwomen were Spartans first and foremostamong the Greeks,but theywere also Greeks in theRoman Empire. If the Spartanshad not identifiedtheir interests with those of the restof theGreeks, their small numbers could haveled themto be ignored.Pausanias (3.22.1) pointsout thatjust off the Peloponnese is theplace whereHelen and Parisfirst had intercourse,and he de- scribesseveral shrines where Helen was worshipedas divine.Nevertheless, while Spartan women werereenacting and revivingthe unique practices of their past, they simultaneously conformed to pan-Hellenicmores, rejecting Helen as a rolemodel for married women and adoptingPenelope. Pan-Hellenismwas a reactionagainst Roman domination and stressedsimilarities among Greek women,according to thetraditional paradigm known best in Athensand preferredby Plutarch.35 Thus,in conformitywith the rest of the Greek world, Spartans emphasized women's modesty and chastity.Even in theimperial period, however, Spartans drew attention to theirdistinctive dialect in theirinscriptions, using a longalpha where other Greeks used an eta:accordingly the women are praisedfor virtue, areta, rather than arete. The shrineof Aidos ("Modesty"), where Penelope's father Icariusin sadnesshad dedicatedan imageof Aidos after his daughter resolutely put on herveil and lefthim to marryOdysseus, was a publicdeclaration of their assimilation (Paus. 3.20.10-11).The statueprobably depicted a veiledwoman since Spartan women covered their hair when they became wives.36Aidos was a psychologicalabstraction that lent support to Spartanbrides and theirfathers, who wereseparated upon marriage.37Pausanias mentions that mothers of bridessacrificed to an ancientwooden image of Aphrodite Hera, an unusualhybrid apparently confirming an exclusive linkbetween love and marriage.38He also explainsa seatedfigure of AphroditeMorpho, wearing a veilwith chains on herfeet, stating that Tyndareus, the father of Helen and Clytemnestra,dedi- catedit to demonstratethat wives were faithful to theirhusbands (Paus. 3.15.10).Probably he was tacitlydefending his own daughters' virtue. This aition seems to havebeen inventedas yetanother defenseagainst the charge that Spartan women were promiscuous. Plutarch {Lye. 4.4), perhapsalso defensively,states unequivocally that despite their nudity the girls were virtuous. As I havementioned, there were gynaikonomoi ("magistrates in chargeof women") at Sparta. This magistracywas said to be katata archaiaethe kai tonsnomous ("in accordancewith ancient customand laws").39Cicero alludes to it,but gynaikonomoiare firstattested at Spartain an early

33 37 Pikoula2001, esp. 428-29. Richer1999, esp. 93-100. 34 38 Spawforth1986. Paus. 3.13.9, and see furtherPirenne-Delforge 1994, 197-98. 35 See furtherPomeroy 1999b, esp. 40-42. 39 Woodward1923-25, 165, no. Bl= SEG 11 (1950), no. 36Pomeroy2002,42. 626.

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first-centurya.d. inscription.40They must have had a fullagenda sinceeach officialwas assisted by fivesubordinates called syngynaikonomoi. Gynaikonomoi not onlysupervised women but also enforcedsumptuary legislation. In religion,elite women enjoyed an approvedavenue for conspicuous consumption.The obligationto payfor the annual feast in honorof Demeter and Core at the Eleusinionwas assignedas a liturgyto femaleofficials known as thethoinarmostria and polos, who also supervisedand participatedin the rituals.Some inscriptionspraise women for their lavish 41 expenditureson thisbanquet, which was servedto all thewomen of the city. In RomanSparta there is no indicationof a restorationof even a pretenseof the old austerity. Excavatorshave found large and comfortablehouses typical of those in imperial Greece.42 In Sparta, as elsewhere,the differentiationbetween wealthy and poor was highlyvisible. The populationof the Romancity of Spartawas no morethan 12,000,43and the elite,of course,comprised a very smallproportion of thistotal. Though few in number,this elite was highlyvisible. Under Roman dominationtheir activities increased, for adults and childrennow were responsible for sacerdotal dutiespreviously performed by thekings.44 The wealthand aspirationsof thisgroup produced a relativeabundance of dedicationsto and bywomen. Approximatelythirty inscriptions that were dedicated mostly in thesecond and thirdcenturies A.D.delineate the professional identities of priestesses at theSpartan Eleusinion alone. The dedica- tionof a statuewith accompanying inscription required the construction of a personathrough image and text:with a fewexceptions, only examples of the latter are extant. The purposeof the inscription is didactic:to identifythe dedicatee and dedicator,to honorthe dedicatee, and to instructthe viewer aboutthe kinswoman portrayed. The dedicatorsnot only bask in theglory reflected upon them by theirhonoree, for example describing her as toneugenestaton45 or her father as philosophotatou?6 but also are commemoratedthrough their indulgence in conspicuousconsumption: they had the wealthto pay forthe sculptures,including some in bronze.47Although the dedicators'goal was individualityand self-expression,the scholar surveying the remains nearly two thousand years later is impressedby the formulaic eulogies and theconformity to contemporaryprovincial style found elsewherein theeastern Mediterranean. The honoraryinscriptions assert that in theRoman period Spartans valued the same virtues in womenas weretraditional elsewhere in theGreek world. (We observe,in passing,that this ideology wasnot the same as thatfound among the Spartans' classical predecessors.)48 We havementioned the shrineof Aidos and the place where Penelope had left her father. The inscriptionsrefer to twowomen as "newPenelopes." Charision, who calls herself "Sparta's leading maiden, the new Penelope," together withher father Spartiaticus dedicated a portraitherm of a certainHegemoneus (225-50) ,49

40 45 JG5.1209 + SGDI32 4440 = Tod andWace 1906,no. 203. IG 5.1 591, also used to referto a husbandin IG 5.1 598. For thedate, seeLGPN3A s.v.Nikokles (29): JG5.1209 for thecult of Helen and theDioscuri at Phoebaeum. 46IG 5. 1598. 41 IG 5.1 583, 584 + 604 (= SEG 11 812a), 594, 595. 47Bronze:IG5.1592.

48 42Raftopouloul998. See furtherPomeroy 2002, 127-28. 43 Cartledgeand Spawforth1989, 133. 49/G5.1540 = SEG 11 797,and see furtherSpawforth 1984, esp. 276-77. In the thirdcentury Aurelia Oppia is mother 44Spawforthl992,esp.229. ofHeraclia, "a newPenelope": IG 5. 1 598.9-10,and LGPN 3A s.v.Teisamenos (14).

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Charisionadopts a combinationof incongruous attributes to describeherself. Perhaps the new Penelopemeant to alludeto themythical wife's sophrosyne, though she herselfis a kourawho has notyet left her father. She maywell have written the elegiac couplets herself, showing off her skill atsynchysis and homoioteleuton.She mayalso be responsiblefor the decision to dedicatea portrait herm,a newstyle at Sparta,rather than (as was traditional)dedicating a freestandingstatue of the honoree.50Without subtlety Charision exploits the occasion for honoring another person by using theinscription as a platformfor her own glorification.The age minimumfor the marriage of girls withRoman citizenship was twelve.Charision was probablya Romancitizen,51 but even if she was not,she was doubtlessinfluenced by the marriage practices of her elite peers who werecitizens.52 Thus she was probablyin her earlyteens at the timeof the dedication.Certainly in Charision's inscriptionit is possibleto see an adolescent'sview of the world where she maystill choose among a cornucopiaof possibleidentities: the self-assertion and awkwardindividualism of herown self- portraitstand out in comparisonwith the cliched descriptions of the mature women whose virtues arelauded by their kin. A typicalexample is theAugustan Alcibia who was honored for her domestic virtue,the euergetism of herancestors who werefamed prophets, and theblameless life she had led forsixty years as a wife.53 Merelypossessing philandria54 and sophrosyne?5or being semnotes56 and kosmiotes51often are notdeemed sufficient. Superlatives (even where the quality praised would not seem to allowdegrees ofcomparison) are reminiscent of the traditional competitiveness ofSpartan women. Julia Etearchis was HestiaPoleos and thecity's most chaste and mostdecorous {kosmiotaten) daughter.58 Claudia Polla was axiologo[ta]teand sophronestate?9Several women are singled out for their pases aretes en

50 34 Spawforth1984,277. IG 5.1 581,600-601, 605. 51 55 Spawforth(1984, 277) suggeststhat the Spartiaticus who /G 5.1 581, 586-87,596-97, 600-601,605. is Charisions fatheris P. MemmiusSpartiaticus (IV), but 56 in Spawforth(1985, 194,211) he does not includeher in IG5.1 586-87. the stemmaor discussion.LGPN 3A, s.v. Spartiatikos(8) 57 identifieshim as fatherof Charisionand perhapsthe same IG 5. 1600. as (9) a Memmius. 58 IG 5.1 593 (1258 is not the same person): Spawforth 52 The age ofmarriage of upper-class girls was earlyto mid- 1985,225,243. teens:Shaw 1987,esp. 43-^4. 59 IG 5.1 602; sophronestatealso IG 5.1 590, 608; and see 53 IG 5.1 578. furtherSpawforth 1985, 225, 239, 242.

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taisgynaizin heneken ("virtue among women").60 Confining their zealous ambition to thewomen's arenawas characteristicof good women. Despitewomen's protestations of modesty, the sightseer in Spartacould look at theirportray- als in inscriptionsand statuesand witnessrituals like the whipping ceremony, where the priestess held theancient wooden image of Artemisthat was said to have been broughtback fromTaurus by Iphigeniaand Orestes.61Like therituals themselves, the archaic images of ArtemisOrthia and AphroditeHera connectedthe women in theRoman period directly with their remote ancestors. In somefamilies the self-important naming patterns of women recall the glorious past. Thus among theattested descendants of Ageta whose name is reminiscentof Agido and Agesistrata,for instance, appearanother Ageta, as well as womennamed Damostheneia, Tyrannis, Philocratia, Callicrateia, and Callistonice. As a resultof thesmall population, the economic and social pyramid,and thesmall number offamilies responsible for maintaining hereditary priesthoods, many women held multiple priesthoods,often simultaneously and forlife. For example,Pompeia Polla and MemmiaXenocratia62 presidedover the Hyacinthia for life as archeisand theoros63and priestess of the Dioscureia.64 Claudia Damostheneiaheld hereditarypriesthoods of CarneiusBoecetas, Carneius Dromaeus, Poseidon Domateitas,Heracles Genarchas, and Core and Temeniusin Helos. Dedicationsby and in honor of Spartanwomen follow the general pattern in theGreek world: they are eitherconnected with femaledivinities or withcults in whichother family members are involved.65The successionto priesthoodscould be matrilineal,66and womeneven served as priestessesfor male divinities.67 The dutiesdevolving upon thosefilling offices connected with cults often involved spending personal funds.Some are praisedin theirinscriptions for their "generous souls" and forfulfilling their obligations"magnificently."68 The Hyacinthia, the festival of Artemis Orthia, and theGymnopaediae (thefestival of nakedyouth) were three of themost prestigious of Spartanfestivals and werewell attendedby visitorsfrom the restof Greece and Rome. Womenplayed principal roles at these festivals:as girls,for example, some rode in elaboratelydecorated wicker carts, and othersraced in chariotsat theHyacinthia.69 As womenthey presided as priestessesover events in whichnot only girlsand womenbut boysand menas wellparticipated. The priestessof Artemis Orthia in factis theonly Spartan sacerdotal official to appearin a literarytext.70 A newtitle emerged in theRoman period: "Hestia Poleos."71 This exalted woman was in charge ofthe common hearth and at timeseven permitted to attendmeetings of the Boule. Grants of hon- orifictitles such as Hestia of theCity incorporated women into the civic family. Claudia Tyrannis was titled"daughter of the city," and Claudia Damostheneia"Mother of Piety, of the Demos, and

60 65 IG 5.1 586, 587, 590, 597. See furtherKron 1996,esp. 158,and Turner1983, 391. 61 66 Paus. 3.16.7,9, and see above on AphroditeHera. Spawforth(1985, 203-4) citesthe descendantsof Mem- mia 62 Eurybanassa. She was also HestiaPoleos, Mother of Piety, of the Demos 67 and ofthe Boule: IG 5.1 589, second/thirdcentury, and see For Damostheneia,see furtherSpawforth 1985, 235. below.See furtherAlcock 1989b, 30-31. 68Seen. 41 above. 63 Spawforth1985, 244. 69Athen. and see further 64 1.317, Pomeroy2002, 20. Archeis:/G5.1 602,and see Robert(1974), who compares thisoffice to the prestigious priesthood of Demeter Chamyne 70Paus.3.16.10-11, noted by Spawforth1992, 232. at Olympia,and Spawforth1984, 286 n. 128. 71/G5.1584,586,604.

This content downloaded from 146.96.24.14 on Fri, 4 Jul 2014 09:41:17 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions SPARTANWOMEN AMONG THE ROMANS 23 1 ofthe Boule."72 Such titles imply that the Assembly and Councilhad adoptedthese women.73 These honorsmay also be viewedin termsof grants of citizenship and othercivic honors to Greekwomen in theHellenistic period, which admitted them into the political world of men.It is also relevant to comparethe Spartan titles with the familial terminology employed in honorsawarded to Julia Domna,Julia Maesa, and otherimperial women, including the titles of Mater Augustorum, Mater Castrorum,Mater Patriae, and MaterSenatus.

RomanCivic Identity

The finalethnic identity assumed by some elitewomen was juridical.74As theirnames indicate, some Spartanwomen were granted the statusof Romancitizens. Greek marriage patterns were endogamous,mirroring the privacy of the city-state, but Roman law forbade marriage between close relatives:marrying out was a reflectionof the expanding empire. In RomanQuestions (108) Plutarch decidesthat the Roman way is preferablefor women, for if their husbands abuse them,their kins- menwill defend them, while among the Greeks the husband is a kinsman.Among the Spartan elite withRoman citizenship it is stillpossible to findsome marriages between cousins.75 Other families abidedby theletter of thelaw (ifnot the spirit) with multiple marriage ties with the same family, such as theClaudii with the Memmii.76 Enforced exogamy sometimes made it necessaryto claim descentfrom Spartan heroes or fromrevered prophets through the mother alone.77 This desireto assertdescent is responsiblein partfor the relative abundance of women's names in inscriptions. Throughthe ius trium liberorum Augustus promoted fertility with rewards and punishments.Some Spartansenjoyed the privileges bestowed on mothersof three children, including the right to make a will and to manageproperty without a male guardian.78Memmia Ageta, the divorcedwife of Brasidas,a Spartanof praetorian status, bequeathed a trustto hersons, to be distributedonly after theirfather's death because theywere not emancipatedand she did not believeher ex-husband woulddo so.79The case is discussedin theDigest (36.1.23): for Brasidas did emancipatethem and Ageta'sintention, rather than the letter of the law, prevailed.80 Thoughin earliertimes Spartan women had managedproperty themselves, what their legal statushad becomeby the first century B.C. is unclear.81In theHellenistic period the legal capacity ofwomen throughout the Greek world increased, and itis unlikelythat it decreasedin Sparta.For

72 76 IG 5.1 608, and see furtherSpawforth 1985, 206-8, Spawforth1985,238. 233-35. 77 IG 5.1 599, and see furtherSpawforth 1992, 234. 73See furtherRobert 1969, 316-22. For thestate as a ficti- 78 tiousbrotherhood, see Pomeroy1997, 18, 38, 77-78, 80-81, IG 5.1 168 + 603 (anonymous[fragmentary]), IG 5.1 586, et passim. 589, 596, 608. Hupfloher(2000, 39) notesthat three of the knownthoinomostriai held the ius liberorum. 74 Spawforth(1985, 218) suggeststhat if the womenwere married,they were probably granted citizenship as individu- 79IG5.1 581; Spawforth1985,215,220-21. als withtheir husbands. For generalconsiderations along 80 about the effectsof Roman law, see Foxhall 1999, esp. LGPN 3A s.v. Brasidas (5) lists foursons (Antipater, 144-45. Pratolaus,Spartiaticus, and Brasidas),but Spawforth (1985, 228-30) arguesthat only the firsttwo were childrenby 75 E.g., Eudamusand Claudia Damostheneia{IG 5.1 589); MemmiaAgeta. 1985,234, 238. Spawforth 81 Foxhall1999, 144^5, 150.

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theimperial period, however, it may be usefulto comparethe legal status of Jewish women in Ptol- emaicEgypt. Seeking upward social mobility, they used theGreek legal system: thus they began to employa guardianfor business transactions, though they would have been able to useJewish law accordingto whichthey would not need theassistance of a kyrios.82

ShiftingIdentities

It is clearthat ethnic identities are contingentand changeover time. Furthermore, Spartan history itselfwas a dialoguebetween the presentand the past thatunder Roman domination became a conversationwith the rest of Greeceand withRome. Spartan, Greek, and Romansimultaneously, or exploitingone facetof ethnicityto suitthe context,Spartan women were a microcosmof the mosaicthat constituted the Roman Empire. In thefinal chapter, however, the image of Helen prevailed.Gibbon writes that with the Gothic invasion: "the female captives submitted to thelaws of war;the enjoyment of beauty was thereward of valour."83

83 82Pomeroy1984, 121. Gibbon 1776-88 [1974],3:257.

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