Changes

Females in the city-state, because their husbands lived in the barracks or were often on campaign ran the household (oikos). They , therefore , managed not only houses but also estates and oversaw a large number of slaves. Therefore, much of the economy was run by women, a situation that was unthinkable in Athens and other Greek city-states. This gave them real power and influence. Critically, unlike in other city-states, they could also inherit land and wealth and married, or widowed women were not controlled by a male authority figure. As men usually died earlier than women, this meant that many widows amassed considerable fortunes <ref> , Pomeroy, p. 167</ref>. Aristotle claims that many women in Lacedaemon were very rich and lived luxurious lives, despite the traditional austerity of Spartan society. Not only did females become wealthy but they also lent money, and many citizens became indebted to them<ref> Aristotle, Politics, 1269 </ref>. Therefore, a class of Spartan woman became extremely wealthy and this led to growing inequality in the citizen body. According to Aristotle , this undermined the Spartan systemcity-state, as women abandoned motherhood to pursue wealth and luxury, the birth rate fell<ref> Aristotle, Politics, 1269 </ref>. This led to a decline in the number of Spartan citizens and a reduction in the size of their army and this led to defeats such as Leuctra. However, it should be noted that Aristotle like many of his contemporaries was influenced by a culture that was misogynistic and distrusted any independent or strong women.