Young Women Flashcards
Who was the kyrios and what did he do?
- head of an Athenian household
- had control over wife, children and unmarried female relatives
- decided if newborn a baby should be exposed
- if had a girl, would have to pay dowry between 5-20% of his wealth
What education was there in Athens?
- no state education
- families had to arrange tutors for their sons to learn literacy, numeracy, music and physical education
- kyria taught the daughter range of physical skills - spinning wool, weaving, cooking, managing the household and managing slaves
How was marriage arranged in Athens?
- arranged by the Kyrios at 14
- was more of a comercial transaction than romantic affair
- kyrios selected the groom and arranged dowry with him
- bride and groom swore a solemn oath in front of witnesses and from the moment of betrothal the couple were married
The dowry in Athens
- the kyrios had trouble arranging marriage if he couldn’t provide a dowry
- kyrios compensated the groom’s family for having to provide for the bride
- if the husband wanted a divorce he would have to return the dowry, this would make it difficult to divorce
Wedding ceremonies in Athens
Day 1:
- female relatives and female friends feast with the bride
- makes sacrifices to Artemis and offerings to Hera and Aphrodite
Day 2:
- starts with a ritual bath and then dresses in the finest clothes and jewellery
- Kyrios hosts a wedding feast for both families and women are able to attend
- after feast there is a torchlit (ward of evil spirits) procession during which the groom dragged the bride away from his mother
- men sang songs and women threw fruit and flowers
- bride and groom went home and spent the night together with friends outside singing and banging on the door
Day 3:
- sang songs and gifts were given to the bride
- eyewitnesses important as the government did not keep records of marriages
Describe the role of the paterfamilias
- was the head of the Roman household
- he had patria potestas
- when baby was born it was left at his feet and if he picked it up by its feet the baby was formally accepted
Why was it more likely that girls were rejected than boys after birth in Rome?
because Roman women weren’t allowed to work and needed a dowry in order to marry
What happened when a child was welcomed after birth in Rome?
- the father put a couch out for Juno to watch over the baby during its weakest period in life
- 8th day after birth a naming ceremony was held
- baby was given gifts, bulla to ward off evil spirits
What was the education like in Rome?
- there was no state education
- families arranged education but was costly so often only a son was educated
- mother’s would teach girls how to spin wool, weave, cook and manage the house
- poorer girls learned to trade (sources tell us they were hairdressers, jewellery makers and bakers)
What was the Sappho fresco?
- a wall painting which shows a young woman holding a stylus to her lips
- the board she holds was covered with wax which would be written on
- these tools indicated she was educated
- jewellery implies she was wealthy
Describe a cum manu marriage (with the hand)
- wife is legally transferred to husbands family
- dowry required
- able to inherit property if husband died
- no longer inherits from father
- children belong to same family as mother and father
Describe a sine manu marriage (without the hand)
- more common, especially among the wealthy
- bride stayed under legal control of original paterfamilias
- woman still able to inherit from patents
- no dowry required
- husband can easily divorce
What were the three types of Roman wedding ceremonies?
- coemptio (bride symbolically sold, common for cum manu)
- confarreatio (oldest, used exclusively by patricians)
- usus (no formal ceremony, can only result in sine manu, had to spend three consecutive nights away each year)
What was a woman’s role in the Spartan society?
- to bear healthy, strong children
- encourage children to excel in training
How did Spartans decide to expose the babies?
- elders decided if a child was deemed to be weak and then exposed
- gender did not matter to the Spartans
- only cared about the health
