Marriage in Ancient Rome

Women in Ancient Rome enjoyed a slightly better life than those in Ancient Greece. Roman men "placed a very high value on marriage, home and the family and this made quite a difference to society's treatment of women" (Thompson, 2005). Women still were passed from their father's supervision to their husbands, but enjoyed a more important role. While women could not hold

Before the eighteenth century, marriage was far less complicated. Verbal consent and consumation constituted legal marriage: "once the knot was tied by such verbal exchanges it could not be

”since the beginning of civilization, in every known society, governments have recognized a marriage between a man and a woman because it provides the next generation outstanding citizens and is the only means of melding two sexes into a stronger and more complete whole” (Kaufman 164).

A woman’s fate was controlled by the father and passed down to the husband afterwards. Women of the antiquity were married in their early teens to older husbands. The marriages were arranged by the Father’s bride and often the bride did not meet the husband until marriage details had been worked out. Virginity was valuable for women in antiquity, as well loyalty and fidelity. For a woman to divorce it needed the permission from a male member of the family (the father). Women were not allowed to own land or dispose property as she pleases. Also, they are prohibited to participate in politics, buy goods or sell services. Men believed women only cause despair, chaos, and confused situations even more, that they are incapable of decision making

Pollit expounds on the true meaning of marriage; by looking at the history of marriage. For a period of time, “polygyny was the rule;”

Marriage in the ancient Roman world was a legal union between and man and a women that resembled somewhat of a business transaction. The main purpose for marriage was to produce children who would eventually inherit the property of their father. As pater familias, the Roman family was under the absolute authority of the father. This power gave the Roman father complete control of the lives of his wife and children, as well as control over the familial religious faith. Marriage was necessary for the legitimacy of children, for citizenship was only granted to those who were conceived in wedlock between two Roman citizens. Children born outside of a legitimate marriage were not fully recognized under the law. In the case of the death of the father, the oldest son would gain control of the all family matters. Having children to inherit their parents’ property was crucial for maintaining the wealth of the Roman family. For

Marriages and pregnancies were fragile due to diseases, widows were prized, and the chief purpose of women was to bear children

Back in the eighteenth century, marriage was seen as a business contract without considering love as the main reason for any relationship. According to Ingrid H. Tague, an assistant

From the Woman in the odyssey we can tell that Ancient Greeks valued many qualities: hospitality, love, faithfulness, strength, bravery and humility. Women were mainly judged by their looks. They didn't have as much respect as men. They were only paid attention to if they were goddesses, like athena; if they had kingdoms; or their husband or children were someone important as in the case of Penelope, Odysseus’ wife.

It is quite clear is that the main virtue of the “good” women is bearing sons to notable (or divine) men, while the crimes of the “bad” women are against their husbands or sons.

Allison Glazebrook and Kelly Olson’s chapter, “Greek and Roman Marriage" the authors discuss marriage practices in Ancient Greece and Rome and highlight the importance of wives in a family structure and society. They do so by looking at what was required for a legitimate marriage over the course of these civilizations’ history. In both cultures, Glazebrook and Olson especially look at how women and girls’ bodies were policed and defined. From an early age, girls were taught that their role in life would be remain sexually available to their husbands and produce heirs. From a modern perspective, girls in ancient civilizations married extremely young. However, this chapter address the “scientific” justification society gave to promote this practice

Then in society, men were portrayed as “dominant figures” and women were the “nurturers”. Men not only filled the fatherly role but they also usually earned the “breadwinning”, went to work all day, and financially provided for the wives and

The standard upheld had been the normal marriage practice among the elite during the Renaissance. The act required that "'banns had to be published two weeks before the ceremony was to take place; second, that the marriage had to be solemnized in a parish church in the presence of a priest and two other witnesses; and third, that parental consent was necessary for persons under 21'" (Cacicedo 193). This practice ensured parental control over the couple and transfer of property.

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).

Today, the idea of marriage conjures images of bashful brides beautifully draped in all white, of grandiose flower arrangements climbing towards the ceiling, of romance personified. As an institution in this modern world, marriage represents the apex of romantic love, with an entire industry of magazines, movies, and television shows devoted to perpetuating marriage as an idealized symbol of the ultimate love between two people. Contrarily, as a sociological institution, marriage comes from much more clinical and impersonal origins, contrasting with the passion surrounding modern understandings of the institution. Notably, french anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss theorizes that the institution of marriage emerged from a need to form alliances between groups, with women functioning as the property exchanged so that such alliances could be solidified (Levi-Strauss).