The functions of a marriage in ancient Greece are of necessity. The man and woman to not unite because of love or desire for one another it is the doing of the kyrios, male guardian. His decision considered economic and political factors as well the consolidation of family wealth. The young woman could anticipate her duties to include bearing children and motherhood, running the household smoothly, producing textiles, and festival preparations. The much older man could expect to assume the role of guardian for his bride, to become the protector of the family, to gain politically and economically by the union, and to produce heirs with his wife. The expectations of the two are quite different. They husband and wife entered a legal contracted to assure that all of the duties of both would be carried out.

The male participant entered the union at a much later age being that he would have served his time in the military before marriage. After the wedding the relocation process begins. Inanna describes her wedding night and being brought into her husband home in "The Coutship of Inanna and Dumuzi". She says, "My beloved, the delight of my eyes, met me./ We rejoiced together./ He took his pleasure of me./ He brought me into his house" (Wolkstein 48). As Dumzi did here, the husband takes over his role as the guardian for his new bride. If the father of the bride paid a dowry the new husband had to be very careful to take good care of the woman or he may have to repay the dowry in the event of a divorce. The man was in need of producing heirs though. If the woman he married was unable to produce a son then the husband would need to take on another wife in order to preserve his family.

The economical and political side of the union dealt with creating strong ties between families. The upper class marriages were arranged between two different households to increase the wealth of each and strengthen the political powers between the two families. Lower class marriages were a lot of times between relatives to strengthen the power of the entire family, as a whole. The family structure was a source of protection from enemies and in either situation the family benefited from the marriage. The husband could expect to be the protector for the wife and the family.

The young bride had many different expectations when entering the union of marriage. As early as twelve years old, she was to drop her ties to her own family structure and enter her husband’s house as a new member. Taking the young girl from her home at such an early age was to ensure virginity in most cases. Sappho brings insight into why it was may have been necessary to marry these girls so early in her poetry. In the fourth stanza of "Some There are Who Say That the Fairest Thing Seen" she says, "Since young brides have hearts that can be persuaded/easily, light things, palpitant to passion" (Mack 506). She explains that the young brides are easily led into passion therefore giving reason to the young age of brides in ancient Greece.

The young girl assumed the position of a woman as soon as she gave birth to her first child. This was seen as her first role to carry. She could expect to become pregnant early in her marriage and give birth to several children in hopes of a male child. Many wives died in childbirth and were replaced by new wives. The childbearing and rearing was the first and foremost task of the wife. When entering the marriage chamber she could expect to live a life based on her offspring. If she did not produce an heir for her husband she could be replaced by another woman, be it another wife or a concubine, whom could bring forth a male child for the family.

The second most important task that was expected by the wife was the maintenance of the household. On top of her task of rearing the children, she was to clean and prepare the meals for her family. All the women in the family participated in some aspect of the household’s maintenance. The wife could expect to bath and anoint her husband as a duty of marriage. Her role is to maintain the family and her husband.

The women also carried on other duties to help the family’s productivity. They would produce the textiles that were worn by all the members of the family as well as those sold in the market. The lower class women could also expect to do street vending and midwifery. Many vases depicted women creating textiles.

The wives were seldom involved in the festivals of the time, unless there was a festival for women only. They were able to prepare the meats for the festivals which would have been a great honor for them. They also would bake the cakes and breads that would be presented at the festivals for the men to eat.

The structure of the home was different than what would be expected in today’s time. The husband would have his own private area where he slept and prepared himself. Whereas, the wife would sleep near the children and even sometime near the slaves. The marriage was not a union that was to be for enjoyment of the opposite sex. It was out of necessity.

Certainly, there were marriages that the couple shared love for one another but this was not the customary situation. The couple spent most of their time apart. The husband was free to go as he pleased but the wife was stationary for most of her life. The women had little say in what her life was to be like. Her father arranged her marriage to the person whom would there on direct her life. The man controlled the polis, city state, and the woman controlled the oikos, house.

Work Cited

Blundell, Sue. "Women in Ancient Greece." Women in Ancient Greece. (1995): 66-120.

Harris, Stephen L. and Gloria Platzner. Classical Mythology. Mountain View: Mayfield Publishing Company, 2001.

Mack, Maynard. World Masterpieces. United States of America: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1995.

Wolkstein, Diane and Samuel Noah Kramer. Inanna: Queen of Heaven and Earth. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1983.