Athenian marriage customs

• Athenian girl's average age of marriage

  14 or 15 years old because they become fertile at that age. also likely to be 'pure'
• what was important when finding a husband/wife


  -marriage was more like a business arrangement than a romantic joining

  -financial, social and political position

  -how beneficial the relationship would be for both families

  -good dowry
• Athenian betrothal


  -formal ceremony before witnesses

  -dowry stated

  -her virginity attested to

  -oath sworn

  -bride didn't have to be there
• Athenian wedding day 1


  • bride joined by female relatives and friends to a feast
  • bride would make sacrifices to Artemis and offer a lock of her hair as well as childhood toys to symbolically end her childhood.
  • this was to thank the goddess for her protection during childhood and to ask for continued favour as the bride when entering womanhood
  • sacrifices to Hera and Aphrodite also made
• What is the purpose of the ritual bath for the bride in an Athenian wedding?

  To purify the bride and enhance her fertility
• Who assists the bride during the ritual bath in an Athenian wedding?

  An older woman who can advise her
• What items does the bride wear during the Athenian wedding ceremony?

  A special dress, a veil, and a headband
• What does the veil worn by the bride symbolize in an Athenian wedding?

  It reflects her modesty
• Who hosts the feast during the Athenian wedding?

  The bride's Kyrios
• What is the nature of the feast during the Athenian wedding?

  It involves food, music, wine, and entertainment
• How are the guests arranged during the Athenian wedding feast?

  Men and women are separated
• What happens after the feast in an Athenian wedding?

  A torchlit procession begins
• What do the couple do after the torchlit procession in an Athenian wedding?

  The couple retires to their room
• What is sung by the friends of the couple during the night of the Athenian wedding?

  The epithalamion
• What is the purpose of banging on the door during the Athenian wedding night?

  To prevent evil spirits or to give the bride moral support
• What are the key rituals involved in an Athenian wedding (day 2)?

  • Ritual bath for the bride
  • Wearing special dress, veil, and headband
  • Feast hosted by the Kyrios
  • Torchlit procession
  • Couple retires to their room
  • Friends sing the epithalamion and bang on the door
• Athenian wedding day 3


  -guests would still be outside the room

  -celebrants would sing wedding songs and bride would be given gifts which would have been intended to help the bride in her new life

  -e.g. clothing, jewellery, perfumes and cosmetics
• Why were eye-witnesses so important to the wedding ceremony?

  -the Athenian government did not keep a record, so eye-witnesses would be verification of the marriage-friends and family would want to be there
• What would poorer Athenians have done for weddings?


  Shorten ceremony (not enough money for three days)
• The torchlight procession 


  -The groom drags the bride away from her mother, in a cart and takes her to his house

  -she gets crowned and carried a pomegranate. Torches light the way & the men sing wedding songs, and the women throw nut, fruits & flowers at the couple

  -they would be greeted by his mother, at the new house which was decorated in olive and laurel boughs-she would be offered a piece if quince or a date, and the wooden axle of the cart was burned showing that there's no return
• What similarities do Athenian weddings have with Persephone and Hades?


  -torchlight procession-groom drags her away from mother-betrothal - Hades asks Zeus permission to marry Persephone regardless of her feelings-Pomegranate - Athenian bride carries a pomegranate on day 2-Wooden cart - axle being burned represents how she can never return to her family-a mother might grieve over the 'loss of her daughter' like Demeter
• 'for there is nothing better that a man can acquire than a good wife, but nothing worse than a bad one, who is greedy, who burns a man, no matter how strong he is, and makes him old before his time' - Hesiod's works and days


  • good wife is obedient, loyal and domestic
  • women seen as troublesome
• 'The two best days in a woman's life are when someone marries her and when her dead body is carried to the grave.'


  -death way out of marriage

  -marriage way out of home