Men, Women and Marriage Flashcards
What was expected of Greek men?
provide wealth
participate in assembly
serve as a soldier
to be muscular and strong
to die a noble death
behave in a moderate manner
sort out the relationships of women in the family
What was expected of Greek women?
beauty
fidelity
fertility
produce a kyrios (male head of the household)
to weave
to look after the household - economics
How did they prevent Greek women from having illicit sexual relations and illegitimate children?
prevented illegitimate children from inheriting
mothers of illegitimate children would be publicly shamed
kept away from public so didn’t get chance to meet anyone
men and women were separated
houses segregated to prevent men and women interacting
What were the main occasions that women would emerge from the home?
religious festivals
important moments in men’s lives: birth, marriage, sending husband off to war, death
What was expected of Roman men?
master of household
provide for the home by working elsewhere
serve as a soldier + being able to fight
good at public speaking
be virtuous e.g. strong, courageous
participate in politics
What was expected of Roman women?
to stay at home and run the household
to have and care for children
produce a legitimate male heir
chores and crafts at home - weaving
modesty + chastity
marry young as a virgin
to be frugal and capable
marriage cum manu
Roman marriage where the husband has legal power over his wife
oldest living male was the head of the family and had absolute authority over his children and his wife
marriage sine manu
Roman marriage where the husband has no legal power over his wife and that is kept by her father or legal guardian
when wife moved into her husband’s home but remained under her father’s lawful authority
she did not conduct her daily life under his direct scrutiny and her husband had no legal power over her
usually involved two citizens of equal status
paterfamilias
male head of the Roman household, the father
had the right and duty to seek a match for his children and might arrange an engagement long before they became of age
expected to marry into respectable families
daughter could legitimately refuse match if she could prove the proposed husband to be of bad character
cursus honorum
official political career path for a Roman male
virtus
courage or virtue - value associated with ideal Roman man
pudicitia
chastity or modesty in sexual terms - value displayed with ideal elite Roman woman
dowry
financial treaty between families of bride and groom
patria potestas
legal absolute power of a paterfamilias over his familia including his legitimate children until he dies
Julian / Augustan laws
laws introduced first by Augustus and then by other members of the Julio Claudian family
andron
room which was only for the men in a Greek household
infamis
having no legal status in Roman society
generally actors, prostitutes or gladiators
oikos
Ancient Greek household
family, slaves, property, possessions
kyrios
head of Ancient Greek household
responsible for property, wife, children, unmarried female relatives
matrimonium
purpose of a Roman marriage was to have legitimate children
‘mater’ = mother
monogamous
Roman could have, by law, only one wife
consent
was required to marry legally and morally
both parties had to be willing and needed their fathers’ consent
age of lawful consent was 12 for girls and 14 for boys
most Roman women married in their late teens to early twenties but noble women married younger than those of lower classes
aristocratic girl was expected to be a virgin until her first marriage
deference
Roman customs idealised a married daughter’s relationship to her father as deferential and obedient, even at her husband’s expense
not always absolute
daughter kept her birth family’s name for life
children took the father’s name and some may take mother’s family name as part of theirs
in early empire, the legal standing of daughters and sons differed little - either could inherit a share of the family estate if their father died without making a will
Augustan marriage laws background
after collapse of the Republic
laws concerning marriage, parenting and adultery were part of Augustus’ program to restore traditional social norms
consolidated his power as princeps and paterfamilias of Roman state
implemented in 18BC
marriage and remarriage had become less frequent and citizen birth rate had fallen, particularly among the wealthier classes
Augustan laws
encouraged marriage an having children
adultery punished as a crime with banishment
fathers were permitted to kill their daughters and her partner in adultery
husband could kill their partners under certain circumstances and were required to divorce adulterous wives
all men between 25 and 60 years old and all women between 20 and 50 were to marry and have children or pay extra tax in proportion to their wealth
members of the upper class had most to lose
citizens who already had 3 children and freed people with 4 were exempt
marriages between senators and freed women, and slaves and citizens were declared legally void + children born to these were illegitimate, non-citizen and unable to inherit
a married woman with 3 children or more could be granted legal independence
Augustan laws reception
badly recieved
modified in 9 AD
eventually all repealed or fell into disuse under Constantine and later emperors
dowry
payment made by a wife’s family to her husband, to cover expenses of their household
more customary than compulsory
typically included land and slaves but could include jewellery, toiletries, mirrors and clothing
was husband’s property but his use of it was restricted
if marriage ended through divorce, it was returned to the wife or her family
if husband committed offences leading to divorce, he lost claim to any share and if wife was blameless, it was restored to her
if they initiated a divorce but had children, their partner could claim a share on behalf of the children to meet their needs and inheritance
if she divorced, a wife could reclaim this dowry
if she died, the husband kept it
dos recepticia
agreements made in advance about dowry’s disposal and recovery
dos profecticia
dowry given by bride’s father or paterfamilias
could be recovered by donor or divorced woman herself
dos adventicia
more flexible dowry
might be given by wife though it came from her father
used to settle debt incurred by husband
divorce
relatively informal - wife took back her dowry and left her husband’s house
Roman men had right to divorce their wives
paterfamilias could order divorce of any couple under his manus
socially acceptable if carried out within social norms
common and shame-free
subject of gossip rather than social disgrace
husband could divorce his wife for adultery, drunkenness or making copies of household keys
2nd century - married woman could divorce husbands
severed lawful family alliance
only one spouse’s will required for any divorce, even if the divorced party was not informed
was considered a family affair - discussed in private, no public record of proceedings, official registration not required until 449CE
remarriage
frequency of remarriage among elite was high
speedy remarriage not unusual
might create new set of economically or politically useful alliances - elite marriages occurred because of politics or property - few obstacles in remarrying
more likely to be able to choose second husband
no formal waiting period for widower, customary for woman to mourn for 10 months to allow for pregnancy, to ensure no question of paternity which could affect child’s social status and inheritance
wives encouraged to remarry
high death rate, low average life expectancy, high divorce rate meant frequent or multiple remarriages
children expected in marriage
adultery
sexual offense committed by a man with a woman who was neither his wife nor a permissible wife such as a prostitute or slave (another man’s wife or unmarried daughter)
considered a private matter not a serious criminal offense
sufficient grounds for divorce but if wife was at fault, the husband could keep a portion of her dowry
Augustan laws on adultery
directed at punishing married women who engaged in extra-marital affairs
responsibility of the paterfamilias to whose legal and moral authority party was subject
if a father discovered his married daughter was committing adultery in his or his son-in-law’s house, he was entitled to kill both the woman and her lover
if he killed only one - he could be charged with murder
a wronged husband was entitled to kill his wife’s lover if the man was a slave or infamis but was not allowed to kill his wife who was not under his legal authority
if he chose to kill the lover, the husband was required to divorce his wife within 3 days and have her formally charged
if a husband was aware of the affair and did nothing, he could be charged with pandering
the married woman and her lover were subject to criminal penalties, usually confiscation of property or dowry
a woman convicted with adultery was banned from remarrying
concubinage
institution practiced in ancient Rome that allowed men to enter into certain illegal relationships without repercussions with the exception of involvement with prostitutes
Roman citizens could not legally marry or cohabit with a concubine while also having a legal wife
title of concubine was not considered derogatory
Augustan laws recognised it as cohabitation without marital status, varied little from actual marriage except that heirs were not considered legitimate
not considered a social equal to her patron
official law declared that a man could not have a concubine at the same time as he had a wife - various notable occurrences of this
relied upon patrons to provide for them
Spartan marriage
considered a matter of public interest
subordination of private interests and personal happiness to the good of the public was strongly encouraged by laws of the city
laws of Lycurgus of Sparta required that criminal proceedings be take against those who married too late or unsuitably and those who did not marry at all
duty of every citizen to raise up a strong an healthy brood of legitimate children for the state
childbearing was main object of marriage - whenever a woman had no children by her own husband, the state allowed her to live with another man
Greek marriage
heroes of Homer never had more than one lawfully wedded wife, though are frequently represented as living in concubinage
Athenian lawgiver viewed marriage as matter of social and political importance
Plato gives similar role to state in regulating and applying political and social pressure to encourage marriage
in his Laws, any man who did not marry before he was 35 was punishable with loss of civil rights, monetary penalties and states in choosing a wife that men should consult the interests of the state and not his own pleasure
Greek arranged marriage
arranged between groom and parents of the bride
man would choose his wife based on the dowry, her presumed fertility and her skills e.g. weaving.
no established age limits, proper to wait until childbearing age
many women married by 14 or 16, while men commonly married around 30
betrothing or ‘engaging’ a woman was seen as a gift
father and groom became allies, symbolised by gifts, formalising legitimacy of marriage
man could marry a woman by winning her through a competition
husband could have a wife and a concubine. if the wife gave consent, the concubine’s children would be acknowledged as heirs - mainly confined to high status wealthy men
arranged through meeting of fathers - interested in expanding business or forging an alliance, with little concern for the groom and no regard for the wife
selecting a Greek wife
private and personal reasons which made marriage an obligation
Plato mentions one of these as the duty on every individual to provide for a continuance of representatives to succeed himself as ministers of the divinity
prevent heritage being desolate and ensure heirs
childless people may adopt children
Athenian citizen not able to marry a foreign woman (severe penalties)
proximity by blood did not prevent marriage but direct lineal descent did
brothers and sisters permitted to marry, although looked down on
Greek heiress
if a father died with no will and without male children, his heiress had no choice in marriage - forced to marry her nearest relative
a father could dispose of his daughter by will or a husband of his widow - transfer to ownership of another
Greek engagement
marriages arranged between groom and guardian of the bride
suitors would compete against each other for daughter’s hand in marriage - bring gifts, compete by song, dance or games
men would proceed in engysis - pledge of handing her over
woman did not decide who she would marry
important to validity of marriage contract
all children born from a marriage legally contracted in this respect should be legal heirs and sons would inherit equally - if did not, would lose heritable rights
Greek marriage celebration
three part ceremony of three days
proaulia - pre-wedding ceremony
spend last days with mother, friends, female relative, preparations, feast, offerings to Artemis and Aphrodite, symbolise separation from childhood to initiation into adulthood, bond with gods to protect her during transition
gamos - wedding
transfer of the bride to the husband, nuptial bath, removal of veil, sacrifice, moved into groom’s living quarters, dowry
epaulia - post-wedding ceremony
Greek divorce
both husband and wife had power to initiate divorce
wife sent back to her father / wife had to appear before archon
could be initiated by father of the bride if the wife did not bore a child
if a woman’s father had died with no male heir (she was not his heir but possession of his estate went to her husband) her closest male relative could end her marriage to marry her
Greek adultery
where a woman committed adultery, the husband was obliged to divorce his wife under threat of disenfranchisement
husband paid back dowry or pay 18% annual interest
