This is great, but it doesn't even scratch the surface of how crazy being a Spartan wife was.

First was the marriage, wherein the bride would have her head shaved, be dressed in men's clothes then made to lay alone in the dark on a pallet waiting for her husband (who she may have never met) to abduct her, have his way with her, then return her to her parent's house.

This was the start of a marriage which, for the first few years, consisted of the husband showing up at night once in a while for sex and otherwise having no real contact. After the husband reached the age of 30 he was allowed to live outside of the men's barracks so he would finally be able to live with his wife. Things didn't get much more "normal" from there though...

As the Spartan marriage was primarily for procreation, it was not unheard of for an older man to give permission for younger men to have sex with his wife in order for him to have strong, healthy children (the marriage's duty was to bear strong children for the state after all). There is no evidence that Spartan women were opposed to this though. They had greater rights than many other women throughout history with respect to property ownership (it is estimated that women owned 35% of all Spartan holdings), they probably received benefits from these arrangements. According to ancient historians like Plutarch these Spartan customs ensured that adultery, illegitimacy and prostitution were nonexistent in Sparta.

Further, unlike Athenian women who wore heavy, concealing clothes and were rarely seen outside the house, Spartan women wore short dresses and went where they pleased.

So being a Spartan wife was quite the interesting life. It could be difficult, but the benefits were a greater freedom, autonomy, wealth and power than any other women in the ancient world.

Wow, thanks for that Skeeve!