How to live like a Spartan woman

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Despite the warlike, macho image of the Ancient Greek Spartans, their female citizens had a surprising degree of freedom. Prof Angie Hobbs explains why the unique Spartan system produced women who were much more outspoken and independent than other Greek women in the 5th century BC. Image: Detail of a Spartan woman from a drawing by Dionisio Baixeras. (Universal Images Group/Getty Images)