SPARTA: WHERE WOMEN RULED WARRIOR MEN 

This course traces the history of the polis of Sparta focusing on its unique economy, gender norms, military, politics, and society from the Homeric period of Menelaus and Helen down through the city-state’s rise and fall as the premier power of the ancient Greek world. The lawgiver Lycurgus’s socialized economy, educational system, marital practices, and women’s rights were all designed to maximize the musculature and fighting prowess of its warrior male citizens. Their Greek neighbors, the Helots, who were enslaved by physical domination, will also be the subject of extensive discussion, as will Spartan women, whose unique ability to own property, trade, and lend money, allowed them to shape the city’s history as its most important business people.