Men and Women
Men and women were treated very differently. Only free men were considered citizens. Women, children and slaves were not. They didn’t have much freedom either. Although, in Sparta, women had much more freedom. Men were responsible for growing and harvesting crops, but the whole family helped unless they had slaves. When any men had parties, women and children were not allowed to attend. If a woman or child wanted to leave the house or do anything out of the ordinary, they had to get permission from the man first. But, while in their own home, the woman was like the boss. She cooked, cleaned, sewed, and raised the children. Some women had slaves to help them with their work. When a child was born, it was a cause for a celebration. The Greeks loved to dance. So they created a dance the father did while holding the new child. All city-states but Sparta did this. For all families that did not have slaves, the children were working in the fields by the time they were toddlers. But they had time to play around also. They liked telling stories and fables and playing games.