Comparing Allison Glazebrook's Chapter 'Greek And Roman Marriage'

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

Reading the Aristotle's work On a Good Wife from Oikonomikos that was written in c. 330 BCE, one may see the reflection of the leading ideas, opinions, and rules in the Ancient Greek society. This work concentrates its attention on the guidelines for the young wives and husbands, their chords, values, and relationships. Reading through a long list of the requirements the wife should meet in order to acquire the respect and understanding of the husband, it becomes clear that the wives were expected to accomplish all the monotonous routine work and keep away from complaints. The author puts a strong emphasis on the importance of the reciprocity of the appropriate treatment in order to make the patriarchal way of life seem more democratic and

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

Contrary to the present archetypes involving the relationships between parents and children, Greek and Roman myths show us that at one point in time, incest was considered socially acceptable. Many Greek and Roman myths contain twisted relationships between parents and children. These twisted relationships can be broken into three different categories: mothers and sons that have exceptionally strong bonds, parents that are threatened by their children, and the betrayal of parents or children. Greek and Roman Mythology often employs many themes that, in modern life, we consider to be taboo; one of the most widely used ideas is the distortion and dysfunction of parent and child relationships.

Love is defined as an intense feeling of deep affection. Although it is not as easily defined as some may make it. Every situation and the lessons we learn from those times, help to form what we believe love to be. For some it may be a physical attachment that others degrade to lust. For some it may be their reason for continuing on in life; but overall for most, love is what drives our lives. From childhood to adulthood we seek to find relationships that will fulfill our hearts and make our short time on Earth a little more enjoyable. However as well as any other activity we partake in, ways in which we perceive love and marriage have changed over time. Although there is slight variations, when most imagine the life of a married couple pure happiness is what is expected. As wonderful as that expectation may be, not every marriage fits into this ideal. The criteria of marriage used to be based off of what your partner can offer you. However as times have changed and gender roles have begun to disappear, marriage has now

Marriage has been a heated controversy for the past few years because people often marry for the wrong reasons. Anyone who thinks of an ideal marriage would think of two people loving each other and sharing a personal bond or goals together. Marriage is regularly defined as the legally or formally recognized union of two lovers as partners in a personal relationship. This definition remarks there is an actual connection between two people in marriage, but do people actually consider this when committing to “love” and “support” their partners forever? As research and studies have shown, people ultimately get married for many reasons, except love. This philosophy can be easily applied to the short poem, “Marriage” by Gregory Corso. In this emotional poem, the author argues marriage is more effectively understood or known for culture and convenience rather than through the abstract considerations of love. Here, we can identify people generally decide to marry for the incorrect reasons, for instance the story of the author himself. Corso finds himself confused multiple times, wondering if he should marry to not be lonely, for tradition and for his physical and mental health. He disregards love, a relationship or a connection with his future wife. General ways of convenience like loneliness, health and economic status between cultural stereotypes and religion are usually the true reasons of why people chose to have the commitment of marriage with another person.

In both Xenophon’s Oeconomicus and Lysias’ defense of Euphiletus’ murder of Eratosthenes, insight into the purpose and function of Athenian marriage may be gained by examination of the speeches of two citizens about their wives and their homes. Through both texts, it becomes apparent that the citizen’s value of his wife is based upon his wife’s ability as an “oikonomikos” or “skilled household manager” (Strauss, 3). It is through filling this role as her husband’s housekeeper that an Athenian woman experienced a loss of personal freedom and found herself trapped within a marriage in which she had little contact or much in common with her husband. A woman’s role as oikonomikos is described by Euphiletus’ address

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

The title of Sarah B. Pomeroy's book on women in antiquity is a summary of the main categories of females in the literary imagination and the societies of ancient Greece and Rome, over a period of fifteen hundred years. Beginning with goddesses, Pomery retells some Greek myths, outlining the social functions of female Olympians – the goddesses are archetypical images of human females, as envisioned by males. Desirable characteristics among a number of females rather than their concentration in one being are appropriate to a patriarchal society. Demosthenes states in the fourth century B.C. this ideal among mortal men, "We have mistresses for our enjoyment, concubines to serve our person and wives for the bearing of legitimate children (Pomery 1995)." Pomery’s goal in writing this book was to detail and outline the true significance of women in all other their roles in antiquity.

Goddess, Whores, Wives and Slaves: Classical Women of Antiquity, written by Sarah B. Pomery, focuses on the main categories of women in the literature and society of ancient Greece and Roman over a time period of fifteen hundred years. Pomery focuses on these roles and how they are significant in the development and structure of these great ancient civilizations. Her goal in writing this book was to expand upon her first book, entitled Goddesses as she discusses in the Preface of this book. She wanted to include the significance of all women’s roles beyond just that of Olympian women because the first thesis was so well received.

In the book, Birth, Death and Motherhood in Classical Greece, Nancy Demand, begins with a description of “The Lives of Greek Women” (page 1), centering on the oikos, “the cultural context of control” (page 147), for reproduction for all women. Nancy Demand, begins light to the problems that pregnant women are likely to have faced in Greek antiquity, and to the ways in which a male dominated society sought to understand and manage women's necessary role in procreation. There is much provoke thought and not least because male control of female reproductivity was woven inextricably into the institutions of the oikos. The prevalence of female infanticide, arranged marriages, and pressure to produce male offspring; and the life described is one that Nancy Demand clearly thinks Greek women themselves found oppressive. For example, In the book, Birth, Death and Motherhood in Classical Greece, Nancy Demand say, “most widely celebrated of the occasions that allowed women a temporary respite from the routines of the oikos”,

Formalized unions in the Heian era had been organized starting with pre-pubescent boys to girl’s after their first menstrual cycle. Genji had been wed at a young age to the four year older Aoi and thereafter wooed profuse women. As a son of the emperor he possessed unabashed access to women across the political spectrum. Polygamous relationships for men were a normal function of aristocratic society during this era. Sexual adventures were however concealed and any sights of women would rile a man’s desire for copulation. Yet in the context such interactions typically transpired during the cover of night and the lovers never witnessed dawn together.

Generally, in ancient Israel, full wives and concubines, in early puberty around eleven and twelve, conceived and produced children with their husbands for agricultural needs for the families’ survival. Women who were married were protected of polygamy practice, known practice of a husband possessing more than one wife; whereas, women living alone, were unprotected members of society. In ancient Israel, two types of wives existed, the full wives and the concubines. Future husbands or their families purchased wives from the father of landowners; this purchase, known as a “bride price”, displayed a common practice of ancient Israel. However, concubines, the significantly lower status women, exist from the fathers of none landowners. Divorced, sexually assaulted, or orphan women often defined the concubines; no bride price paid for the concubines. Marrying concubines increased the husbands’ chances of producing sons (Carvalho pp. 36-38).

The stories that as a whole make up the body of ancient Greek mythology have treatedthe complex subject of women in various ways. Although women are generally considered to beweak and subordinate to their husbands, there exist some examples of strong, even heroic womenin certain myths. Such “extraordinary” women include Deianeira, Phaedra, Medea, Penelope,and Clytemnestra, among others. This discussion of women will focus on the latter two,comparing and contrasting them and addressing the ways in which the former is often considereda “good” wife and the latter a “bad” wife. The comparison of Penelope and Clytemnestra willultimately show that, in certain ways, the line between “good” and “bad” wife is rather blurryand the distinction between husband-killing monster and devoted, faithful wife is not as clear-cutas one might expect.The major works in which Penelope and Clytemnestra appear are Homer’s Odyssey andAeschylus’ Oresteia, particularly the Agamemnon. One of the first things to notice about theseworks is that they were both written by men, for men. Given the ancient Greek context, this is arather obvious observation, but it deserves to be pointed out because it should be expected thatmen would have a biased view of women. Hesiod’s Theogony and Works and Days describe thecreation of Pandora, the first of “the race of women”, as a gift and punishment from the gods.While she is made to “look like a goddess immortal, / having the lovely, desirable shape of a

Myths about marriage relationships teach us a lot about social norms, gender roles, and power structures. The mythologies of most cultures include some reference to the marriage relationship, because the institution of marriage brings up a lot of issues: including power, politics, sex, and emotions like anger. Today we are going to discuss one of the most intense marriage relationships in the Greek literature, between Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. If you are familiar at all with Greek literature, you may have heard of Agamemnon. An entire play by Aeschylus is devoted to the King. His wife Clytemnestra could equally share the title of that play, as she drives most of the action. On the contrary, her husband seems to react to things, rather than take control of the situation. This seeming role-reversal says a lot about gender norms and roles in Greek society. Their relationship takes place along the backdrop of the Trojan War, so we can see how external, political, historical, and social forces shape the marriage relationship. These external forces also reveal a lot about the individual characters of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra.