History Of Everyday Family In Ancient Greece

The marriage of an Athenian woman and man is hard to define exactly because there has not been an exact word translated that is equivalent to the word, “marriage.” The Athenians have words that translate as physical acts for a marriage for the sake of having a child, they also have words that translate as “cohabit” or “live together.” This leads to the conclusion that our traditional connotation of marriage as a bond is not the way it was in Athens. The reasons for a man and a woman to be joined in marriage were nor for love, as we would expect, it would be for profitable and more pragmatic reasons. Usually most beneficial to the male’s in the bride’s life. Since the women were not supposed to be unattended they are assumed to have accepted what was decided for them in terms of a husband. “…A husband normally addresses his wife as “woman.” The Greek word for woman, is

In Classical Greece, roles played by males and females in society were well-defined as well as very distinct from each other. Expectations to uphold these societal norms were strong, as a breakdown within the system could destroy the success of the oikos (the household) and the male’s reputation—two of the most important facets of Athenian life. The key to a thriving oikos and an unblemished reputation was a good wife who would efficiently and profitably run the household. It was the male’s role, however, to ensure excellent household management by molding a young woman into a good wife. Women were expected to enter the marriage as a symbolically empty vessel; in other words, a

Wedding rituals in Greece have been carried from generation to generation since accent Greece. Something that has changed since then is the arrangement of marriages, there was no courtship in accent Greece, but an arranged marriage orchestrated by the bride and grooms parents. These marriages were usually organized for financial or political gains for either family. The age of the bride would usually be from ages fourteen to eighteen, while the husband would be upwards of twenties or even thirties (“Marriages in Ancient Greece."). One tradition that still stands in modern day Greek weddings in the traditional dance called the Kalamatianos. In this dance multiple people, including

The content of My Big Fat Greek Wedding is analyzed, the purpose is to discuss lifespan theories, models of resilience and psychosocial development of three main characters in the movie. Psychosocial developmental theories will be applied, to different life stages and focus will be presented from the perspective of a counselor. Character relationships and how they impact one another will be identified and explored from father (Gus), to Daughter (Fortoula), and Son in law (Ian). The story is touching as family cultural identity takes a central role in relation to powerful connections involving the life and growth in this large family that opens up to welcome the families first non-Greek family member.

Athens and Sparta although very different, in every way, still shared some common aspects and laws when it came to women. Although we have seen that Spartan women had some form of independence when it came to politics, property and education, they were still controlled when it came to marriage and child bearing. We can see a similarity with this, in the Athenian women who had no control whatsoever, over who they married and to whom they must bear children to. In Athens, the female would be given by her male kyrios (most likely her father, sometimes her brother, at this stage of her life) in marriage with a man. And even once she was married away, she still had no say in what happened next. Sometimes her father could force her to leave her husband, hence dissolving the marriage.

The most important role of women in ancient Greece, especially married women, was considered to be the production of lawful children and the execution if household chores. Also she was required to literally remain inside the home, except she was attending a special event as in those days women found in the streets were either assumed to be enslaved, a harlot, a concubine or a woman who had to find work outside of the home because of poverty (Thompson, par.8). It was also considered respectable for a woman to remain out of sight and audible range when the man of the house had guests.

Often the father chose his daughter's husband but for most Athenians marriage was living together. Sometimes marriage would be arranged when the daughter was very young if she came from a wealthy family. The daughter would not be allowed to meet or know her husband until dowry and when the engagement had been agreed. Another one of their important beliefs were that the daughter was a virgin.

"[T]he traditional family has stood for 5,000 years.... In every major religion in history, from the early Greek myths of the 'Iliad' and the 'Odyssey' [written by the Greek

The women of classical Athens were confined to their assigned domain the home or the oikos and were rarely, if ever, allowed to leave this space. Women were strictly segregated from any men that they were not related to after they were married, passing from their father or guardian’s home to that of her husband. In the home there were distinct women’s and men’s quarters, often separated by the courtyard. The women had total control of running the household and maintained it with prudence

Athenian women, were confined to their homes in order to take care of their family. Other than watching over the household and attending their husbands, they had to take care of all chores as it was considered their “job”. They as well watched over their slaves and if anything was ever needed from the market a slave would be sent to go get it. These women did not live a public life as they weren’t able to leave their home. Married women were not allowed to speak with any men however, were allowed to socialize with other women unlike the married women from

The groom’s choice in bride was largely determined by the amount of dowry the bride would bring with her. Although the wedding was a happy ceremony, it was only the beginning of a woman’s loss of independence. Not only did women possess no independent status in the eyes of the law; she always remained under the supervision of a male. If her husband died, she was returned to her father’s or brother’s home where they would take charge of her. After the wedding, the wife’s duties were centered on the management of the home. She would overlook the slaves, mend and make clothing for her family, usually done by spinning or knitting, weave rugs and baskets for the home, or just fold and refold the clothing kept in the family chest. The wife was also responsible for maintaining her attractiveness for her husband. A proper Athenian wife would adorn herself with jewelry and use rouge upon her husband’s arrival home. Sometimes she might spend an entire evening sitting next to the couch where her husband lay reclining. Most importantly the Athenian women were seen as “fine upstanding matrons” fit to bear a race of excellent athletes” (Everyday Life in Ancient Greece, pg. 86). An Athenian man married primarily to have children. These children were expected to care for him in his old age, but more importantly to bury him with the “full appropriate rites” (Daily Life in Greece, pg. 57). Moreover, Athenian men married to have male children in order to perpetuate the family

They were able to enjoy their life until they were ready to move forward. They surprisingly did not consider marriage until their late teens or early twenties. “It is highly significant that Spartans condemned violence inside marriage, and understood that sec with a child is abusive. Nor were Spartan girls married to much older man, as usual in other Greek cities” (Schrader). They believed that by not spending time together after marriage, considering they were permitted to live together, would make their relationship stronger and full of more desire for one another. The actual marriage ceremony for a Spartan woman was not typical in any way, the term they referred to is a captured marriage. The bridesmaid would capture her, shave her head to the scalp and dress her in men’s wear. Later her groom would show up and begin what would be their secret marriage. This would continue to be a secret until the man reached the age of 30. Because Sparta’s male citizens were required to devote their lives to their communities and military, the women ran the estates of their husbands. They controlled their family wealth and where the money went. Spartan woman could also inherit wealth. All in all, the Spartan woman was one of a

As mentioned earlier, Athenian women’s commitment was to the household. Women did not venture out of the house as men only had the opportunity to work outdoors. The wife would be in charge of the house when the kyrios was out. She made sure that all the housework was completed (tasks mostly given to slaves). The Athenian wife would also nurse the sick and preside over the kitchen duties but most importantly her responsibility was to raise the children especially daughters, whom would need to be taught two most vital functions when married, wool working and childbearing. See figures 3.1 and 3.2. (Sparks, 1998:237) (Carroll,

In ancient Greece women did everything in the house. Often in myths we see the women being treated as prizes, in real life that was also how they were treated. The women had to take care of an entire household and follow all the rules of her husband or father. They didn’t have say in important things, but they had to raise their children the right way. In ancient Greece the women had the roles of taking care of the children, taking care of the house, pleasing a man, and bringing in more money if she wasn’t married to a wealthy man.

Ancient Greek society was ahead of its time politically speaking. Indeed they iniciated the concept of democracy. Of course, this democracy did not include everyone in Greece; male citizens dominated society and had full legal status. They were divided in three classes depending on wealth. Females on the other hand had few rights, they were obliged to stay at home and bear children. Once married to a man chosen by their father, women were under the authority of their husband. Divorce were tolerated under three conditions : Repudation by the husband, he did not need justification and had to return the dowry; the wife could leave the family home but it would bring shame on her; finaly the bride's father