Marriage in Ancient Greece

The ancient Greeks and Jews are historical contemporaries, but their notions of marriage were diametrically opposed. Greek civilization gravitated toward two main centers - Athens and Sparta. These city-states differed significantly in the way of management, rights and

duties of citizens, attitude to marriage and marriage law. Marriage in Sparta was "open" even by modern standards, in contrast to the Athenian, which was extremely restrictive.

Spartan men and women took part in the marriage ritual, which began with a staged kidnapping of the bride in her new home. The groom, however, until he reached the age of thirty, continued to live in a soldier's barracks, only at night escaping from the barracks to his wife. Even more surprising was that up to sixty years of age he had to eat with all the soldiers. What was the reason for this custom? The fact that, according to the ancient beliefs, too frequent intimate affinity prevented the preservation of military force-the dominant value of the Spartan society.

Ideals of such psychology extended to the traditions of procreation. A spouse who does not have children from her husband could take another man to give birth to a child. If a married man did not want to have intimacy with his wife, but wished to have children from another woman, he could obtain the appropriate permission, also guaranteed by law.

The men of Sparta were primarily warriors. They were often absent, taking part in distant military campaigns. Therefore, women, especially those belonging to the upper strata of society, had considerable political power, and enjoyed great freedom. Some of Spartan women had two houses and two husbands. In this way they became owners of large land plots. Despite the fact that monogamy was a common form at that time, the marriage was largely open-minded.

There were far more restrictions in the life of Athenian women than their Spartan contemporaries. In Sparta, women had very little domestic responsibilities and enjoyed great freedom. In Athens, however, it was believed that women financially and legally should depend on fathers or husbands for the economic well-being of the family. Their duties included the care of children and the maintenance of the family in the "purity".For centuries, the husband in Athens had the right to kill his wife, if she betrayed him. The value of a woman and with her marriage was often belittled. It is known the saying of the ancient Greek thinker Pythagoras of Samos, indicative from the point of view of the woman in the V century BC.e., that men start order and light, and from women there is chaos and darkness.

The legendary Greek poet Homer in the Iliad and Odyssey has exalted love. However, many Greek poets of that era were less merciful. Even conjugal love was sometimes mocked.