The women in ancient Greece were bound by restrictive gender roles. Once of a marriageable age there was no longer a role for her in the male-dominated society outside of her residence except for as a woman of pleasure or of religion.
Oftentimes, though, an all-female society mirrored that of the men. Of this women’s world little is now known – the writers of history were men and were not part of that world – but the evidence suggests they had their own sporting events.
Atalanta – a Woman in the Male World of Athletics
How unwomanly athletics were considered becomes clear when examining the myth of Atalanta. Her father had wanted a son so when Atalanta was born a girl he set her out in the wilderness to die, which was quite within his right as a Greek patriarch. Atalanta was saved, however, by Artemis who sent a she-bear to nurse and raise her. Atalanta in turn became something of a bear herself, excelling in hunting, wrestling and running.
Atalanta eventually came to the attention of her father, who took her back into his household. Ever the tomboy and having pledged her virginity to Artemis, Atalanta did not want a traditional Greek life for herself, but her father insisted that she marry. She relented on the condition that she would not marry any man who could not win a footrace against her and she would kill any man who failed. Many men failed. Only trickery from the gods eventually let one man win.
The athletic woman in the eyes of the ancient Greek man was thus not quite a woman and thoroughly the creation of mythical circumstance.
Women in the ancient Olympics
The ancient Olympics were a men only affair and the rules regarding women were very strict. The only grown woman allowed to watch the games was the priestess of Demeter. Any other woman found at the games was, according to local law, to be pushed off the cliffs of the mountain Typaion.
That said, history tells only of one woman who was caught at the Olympics. She was a widow by the name of Kellipateira, a daughter and sister of famous Olympic victors. Kellipateira took it upon herself to be her son’s trainer and it was in this role she went to the Olympics dressed like a man. Though caught, Kellipateira was spared her cruel fate out of respect to her famously athletic family.
The first woman to use a loop-hole in the rules was Kyniska of Sparta. Chariot races were entered and won by the horses' owners, but the actual race was usually performed by hired professionals. As such, Kyniska - and several women after her - could participate in the Olympic Games without actually being present. Not only did she participate, but she won and raised a monument in honour of the event.
As elsewhere in Greek life, the women's world mirrored the men's. In a fashion very similar to the male Olypics, there was also the lesser known Heraean Games at Olympia. Here, unmarried virgins could compete against each other every four years just like male youths and like the men the winners were allowed to bask in their glory by dedicating a statue for all to see. Similar games were held in Argos and Dodona.
The Spartan Exception
Though Greek women were usually not encouraged to be athletic, Sparta is an exception. Spartan culture glorified the ideal of the soldier and men lived in barracks rather than with their wives who took care of the land and wealth. As a result, Spartan women were more independent than most Greek women which may have required more strength and allowed for more exercise. The reasoning behind making athletics part of the girls’ public schooling, however, was that strong mothers birth strong soldier sons.
To the male Athenian commentators, this was just another clear sign of Spartan women's unchaste nature.
Archaeology Hints at the Forgotten Athenian Women’s Athletics
While history does not make a case for a strong place for women’s athletics in Athenian society, archaeology is hinting that it might not have been entirely hidden from the public eye. In the Athenian township of Brauron the sanctuary of Artemis, open only to women, even had a wrestling school for girls. This Brauronian Artemis had another sanctuary on the Athenian Acropolis, at the centre of Athenian religious life, serving there as a reminder of this and other aspects of the women’s world.
Sources
Pausanias, Description of Greece.
Xenophon, Constitution of Sparta.
Miller, S.G., Ancient Greek Athletics, Yale 2004.
Pomeroy, S.B., Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves: Women in Classical Antiquity, Chatham 1994 (1975).
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