When some persons expressed disapproval of the nudity of the maidens in the processions, and sought to know the reason for it, he said, ‘So that they, by following the same practices as the men, may not be inferior to them either in bodily strength and health or in mental aspirations and qualities, and that they may despise the opinion of the crowd.’ Wherefore is recorded also in regard to Gorgo, the wife of Leonidas, a saying to this effect: when some woman, a foreigner presumably, remarked to her, ‘You Spartan women are the only women that lord it over your'men,’ she replied, ‘Yes, for we are the only women that are mothers of men !’ 1
1 Cf. Moralia, 240 E (5) infra, and Plutarch's Life of Lycurgus, chap. xiv. (47 E-48 B).
Plutarch. Moralia. with an English Translation by. Frank Cole Babbitt. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. London. William Heinemann Ltd. 1931. 3.
The National Endowment for the Humanities provided support for entering this text.
This text was converted to electronic form by optical character recognition and has been proofread to a high level of accuracy.
Purchase a copy of this text (not necessarily the same edition) from Amazon.com
