Marriage Research In Athens In Classical Times

As a social phenomenon acts in accordance with the provisions of the customsand laws, marriage is not only the physiological combination between men andwomen, but also a kind of particular social union.It is a standardized behaviorprotected by law and admitted by society.Although the modern sense of the word “marriage” did not appear in theancient Greeks, and the concept of “marital property” differed fromour?modern?understanding at that time. The development and stability of polis, aswell as the inheritance of property and the relationship between family membersrequired the polis to modify and standardize the institution of marital property. Themarital property connected the female with two independent families, decided whois the rightful heir and had an important influence in women’s social and familystatue.Therefore, the research of marriage in classical Athens is an important partof family history of this period. It helps us understand and analyze women’s status ofclassical Athens, thereby reveal the history of western family marriage life, sexual lifehistory and the Greek civilization.The first chapter mainly discusses the viewpoint on marriage of Greek andthe relationship between marriage, individual, family and polis. For ancient Greek,marriage was not only personal and household but also was public. Marriage was animportant link between man, woman, family and polis.The second chapter is the main part of this paper, mainly elaborates thechoice of marriage partner, the marriage age of men and women, the rituals ofengagement and wedding. In the classical period of Athens, wedding was composedof a series of activities and rituals, including engagement, sacrifice procession andfeast. The wedding ceremony of Athens marked the beginning of their transition to anew stage of life. Meanwhile, it also showed the legality of marriage. The decisions ofwomen’s marriage belonged to their male guardians. On the other side, the womenshould get rid of her father’s religion and turn to her husbands’ ones. This premise of marriage also indicates that the religion of women in ancient Greek was dependedon the family religions of males.The third chapter mainly reviews the dowry of marriage, the use andtransfer of dowry, as well as the substance of dowry. Dowry was the most importantproperty of women, and it did bring Greek women some benefits. However, womenwere not the true owners of dowry. The essence of dowry is the transference ofproperty by women’s marriage between male citizens.