Women in ancient Sparta their wealth. He attributed the state's precipitous fall during his lifetime, from being the master of Greece to a second-rate power in less than 50 years, to the fact that Sparta had become a gynocracy whose women were intemperate and loved luxury. All Spartan women, not just the richest, would have taken advantage of helot labour to perform the domestic tasks that elsewhere in Greece would have fallen to free women. Activities such as weaving which were considered women's work elsewhere in Greece were not considered fit for free women in Sparta. Therefore, women were more preoccupied with governance, agriculture,
Women in ancient Sparta Plutarch's "Sayings of Spartan Women" which tell of Spartan mothers killing cowardly sons themselves. In ancient Sparta, cults for women reflected Spartan society's emphasis on women's role as child-bearers and raisers. Consequently, cults focused on fertility, women's health, and beauty. The cult of Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth, was an important cult for Spartan women. Also important was the cult of Helen, with many objects used by women – mirrors, eye-liners, combs, and perfume bottles, for instance – dedicated at her cult sites. As well as two major cult sites, a shrine to Helen was located in the center of