Spartan women, on the other hand, received basically the same education as men, including physical education. Women were free to leave their homes without fear of being labeled as a prostitute or a slave, and they could fulfill strong roles in their society. In Athens the women were mostly ignored except for the purpose of breeding. .
Most Athenian philosophers believed that women had strong emotions and weak minds, so of course they had to be protected from themselves and prevented from harming others. Guardianship was the system developed to deal with this perceived quality in women. Every woman in Athens had a kyrios (guardian) who was either her closest male birth-relative or her husband. Although she could own her clothing, jewelry, and personal slave and purchase inexpensive items, she was not allowed to buy anything else or to own property or enter into any contract. Her kyrios controlled everything about her life (Murray 212). Citizenship for a woman entitled her to marry a male citizen and to join certain religious cults that were closed to men and non-citizens, but it did not give her any political or economic benefits (208). .
Compared to the women of Sparta, the status of an Athenian woman in Greek society was minimal. Athenian wives were only a small step above slaves. From birth a girl was not expected to learn how to read or write, and she could never expect to earn an education. Boys were taught reading and writing; whereas girls were taught spinning and other domestic duties by the slaves her family had. (228) .
There are some notable exceptions. For example, there was Hipparchia, a philosopher of the Cynic school. Ethel Kersey states "She was able to marry and educate herself at the same time. "Respectable' women, the wives, mothers, sisters, and daughters of classical Greece, were not allowed to participate in the educational, cultural, or political life of their communities"(107).