Marriage Within the Family: Motivations and Prevalence
Although there is hardly any research on the subject, there appears to be a tendency for intermarriage (and specifically marriage between first cousins) in the Athenian state – at least in the aristocracy.[1] Marriages between first cousins were popular because the bride and groom would be about the same age, but because a larger age difference was acceptable as well, marriages between cousins once removed were not unusual.[2] Considering the predominant desires of upper class families in societies throughout history – ensuring strong political alliances, salvaging a dying branch of a family, and securing the inheritance of an estate, among others – the benefits of intermarriage are obvious.[3] A man who knows the good character of his nephew might also want this as a safe option for his daughter and trust the future of the family line to him.[4]
Most of the benefits are, admittedly, only applicable to Athens’ higher classes, so the frequency of intermarriage in the lower ones was probably not significant in their marriage patterns. However, even though most of the known examples of intermarriage are from literary sources rather than epigraphical ones (and could never, therefore, be representative of the Athenian population), it seems safe to assume that intermarriage made up a considerable amount of matches made in the aristocracy.[5]
Most of the benefits are, admittedly, only applicable to Athens’ higher classes, so the frequency of intermarriage in the lower ones was probably not significant in their marriage patterns. However, even though most of the known examples of intermarriage are from literary sources rather than epigraphical ones (and could never, therefore, be representative of the Athenian population), it seems safe to assume that intermarriage made up a considerable amount of matches made in the aristocracy.[5]
Death, Divorce and Remarriage
At the end of a marriage, terminated by either death or divorce, an Athenian woman would be expected to remarry.[6] Women, even without this social pressure, likely feared the thought of growing old unmarried.[7] Coupled with the lower life expectancy and relatively high divorce rate (compared to modern Greece), the frequency of second and third marriages was rather high and would have at least made up a significant portion of marriages in ancient Athens.[8]
Because an age difference of about 10-15 years between a husband and wife was probably the most common and socially acceptable, women more often than men would naturally face the prospects of widowhood and remarriage. Now, the purpose of marriage was to have legitimate children.[9] The motivations, then, for remarriage would not have been much different from the motivations of the first marriage, and a good number of cases show that second marriages produced children.[10] However, it does well to note that the cases recorded are generally upper class citizens who would have had the means to have more children even after a male heir was produced – and in the majority of extant second marriages, this is the case.[11]
Divorce, on the other hand, was much more frequent – likely because the stigma surrounding divorce did not appear in ancient Greece until the rise of Christianity, where marriage was a sacrament to be broken only by death.[12] The attitude toward divorce in Classical and Hellenistic Athens was simply different. A couple of cases show men divorcing their wives for the sake of bettering their finances, and other cases show divorces as the product of nothing more than unhappiness – both of which would have been legitimate reasons to terminate the marriage.[13] With this being said, there were certainly instances in which the couple would be pressured into staying together – especially those matches made for the sake of strengthening a family or political tie, or those made for the purpose of securing an estate for the older generation.[14]
In the case of the husband’s death, the widow would typically revert back to her own family group where her father or brother would work to secure another marriage for her.[15] In the case that she had borne a male heir to her husband’s family, her legal ties to that group would remain more or less intact, and she would have the choice of returning to her father’s household or remaining with her late husband’s.[16] Sometimes, an older husband would arrange for his wife’s second marriage before his death.[17]
After a divorce, a husband was expected to return the full value of his ex-wife’s dowry to her family, or pay interest at 18% each year.[18] (He was also expected to refund her dowry to her family in the case of her death.)[19] If the couple had children, however, the full value is distributed among her children in the event of her last husband’s death after the woman has passed away.[20] The dowry was a way for the head of the woman’s household to secure the woman’s position in her marriage and for the woman’s family group to share their estate with the woman’s children.[21] With the end of a marriage, the dowry is logically more useful to the woman’s family group to fulfill these purposes in the future through another marriage, or through another female relative (in the case of the woman’s death).[22] It is natural, then, that the husband maintains no right to the dowry after his marriage has been ended.[23]
A Note on Life for Unmarried Women
The lower classes in Athens many times did not have the opportunity to be in a supportive marriage relationship – the desired state of being in the polis. If a woman’s husband were away or if she was a widow without any family to support her, she would be forced to work in the public sphere to earn a living.[24] Selling vegetables or handcrafted goods, nursing or midwifery might be options for women not willing to or able to go into prostitution – which was legal in Athens, but came with its own consequences.[25] Although prostitution was regarded like any other job of disrepute in Athens, it came with the dangers of dealing with strangers and unwanted pregnancies.[26] Still, as much as independent life and work granted women freedoms outside of married life, there was never much in the way of careers available for women.[27] Those who had careers generally did it out of the necessity to care for themselves and their children without the help of a husband - much like single mothers today.
Free Cohabitation
Even though there were instances of free cohabitation in earlier eras, Hellenistic Athens allowed this to a much greater degree and removed much of the formalities that were once required for couples to be married.[28] To date, there is no evidence that free cohabitation was morally problematic even in the Classical era, but the issue of citizenship benefits for legitimate children would linger for some time.[29] During the Peloponnesian War and the later Hellenistic era, laws were made to extend these privileges to nothoi, illegitimates, but this was after Athens had fallen as political hegemon in the Mediterranean.[30]
The motivations for entering into one of these unions might have been more personal; without a formal marriage, the couple would not join for the purpose of preserving the family or the estate.[31] Because the woman in this free union would not become a part of the husband’s family group, she could not take part in the religious duties a wife would have either.[32] Without the engye, dowry and other components of the legal marriage, the woman could leave whenever she chose without telling the Athenian state.[33]
Free cohabitation would have likely been more frequent in the lower classes and between citizens and non-citizens who could not hope for a legal marriage in Athens.[34] However, if the non-citizen was truthful about his or her status, then a free union without the legal formalities might be seen as equal as a marriage under particular circumstances.[35] This route, of course, would not be an option for a respectable Athenian woman.[36]
The motivations for entering into one of these unions might have been more personal; without a formal marriage, the couple would not join for the purpose of preserving the family or the estate.[31] Because the woman in this free union would not become a part of the husband’s family group, she could not take part in the religious duties a wife would have either.[32] Without the engye, dowry and other components of the legal marriage, the woman could leave whenever she chose without telling the Athenian state.[33]
Free cohabitation would have likely been more frequent in the lower classes and between citizens and non-citizens who could not hope for a legal marriage in Athens.[34] However, if the non-citizen was truthful about his or her status, then a free union without the legal formalities might be seen as equal as a marriage under particular circumstances.[35] This route, of course, would not be an option for a respectable Athenian woman.[36]
[1] “The Marriage of First Cousins,” 278. [2] “The Marriage of First Cousins,” 279. [3] “The Marriage of First Cousins,” 280. [4] “The Marriage of First Cousins,” 280. [5] “The Marriage of First Cousins,” 278-281. [6] “Athenian Marriage Patterns,” 222. [7] “Athenian Marriage Patterns,” 223. [8] “Athenian Marriage Patterns,” 211, 221. [9] “Athenian Marriage Patterns,” 223. [10] “Athenian Marriage Patterns,” 220. [11] “Athenian Marriage Patterns,” 223. [12] “Athenian Marriage Patterns,” 221. [13] “Athenian Marriage Patterns,” 222, 224. [14] “Athenian Marriage Patterns,” 222. [15] Wolff, 47, 72. [16] Wolff, 50. [17] Wolff, 224. [18] Wolff, 61. |