Spartan Women Owned 35 Percent

In the later Classical era, women in Sparta controlled an estimated 35 percent of the city’s land and property, an exceptional level of ownership in the Greek world. When a Spartan husband died, often in battle, his land and goods passed to his widow rather than to the oldest male relative. This flow of inheritance gave Spartan women substantial economic power and helped them live with a public presence and authority that most ancient women never approached.

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