Early Greek marriage and Homeric Society Flashcards Preview

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Flashcards in Early Greek marriage and Homeric Society Deck (17)
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1
Q

Homeric society is structured in households made of these things

A
  1. Houses and its fireplace
    1. Its content (food, objects)
    2. Land
    3. Cattle

-An oikos is also a human group that uses these things and is represented by them

2
Q

Wealth of the household

A

house and land: status and identity - can’t be given or purchased

content and cattle: circulate between households, wealth establishes relationships

3
Q

Succession and relationship between houses

A
  • Oikos is founded on legit weddings (there are many slaves and concubines but only 1 wife- who gives birth to legit sons = only ones who can receive inheritance)
  • Oikoi do not really connect with each other.
    • The sons of the masters stay in the oikos, as heirs
    • Daughters are given away to other households
4
Q

Exchange and social relationships

A
  • Groom gives gifts (cattle) to father of the bride and gifts (objects) to the bride
  • The chosen groom (one who gives more) is given to the bride and the wife is “owned” by the husband as an object – valuable part of his house
  • Father of bride and husband = allies (but not relatives)
5
Q

Succession and concubines

A
  • Concubines are ‘bought’ – their fathers do not give gifts but receives them
  • They are not part of the house – sons excluded from inheritance
    • Sons are free men who can receive a house and wealth but no land
6
Q

Succession and “bought groom”

A
  • If a father wants to add a man to his house (has no sons?) he gives the bride not only objects but land
  • Husband does not give anything and accepts to be a part of the house
    • Moves to the house of his wife
    • Sons will be next generation of the house of the father-in-law
7
Q

Next generation of the House

A
  • Legit sons or ‘bought’ son-in-law, inherit the house and land
    • The land can be equally divided and new houses built if necessary
    • # of households can increase – each one is independent
8
Q

Symbolic kinships - Homeric

A
  • Wife is integral part of the house

- Relationship between husband and wife represented as one between “relatives by birth”

9
Q

Homeric wedding vs. Classical

A

SAME:
-Bride is given with gifts
-Main purpose is to ensure survival of husbands oikos
DIFFERENT:
Homeric -Dowry becomes procession of husband
Classical - **Dowry remains possession of wife until passed to her sons
Homeric - Oikoi are independent units
Classical - **Oikoi are connected by a kinship –network of relationships connects oikoi of a community

10
Q

Aristotle on male/female

A

Aristotle, Politics
Adult male: head of oikos, active in place of politics
Rules over
Minor sons: don’t have rational thinking yet, not fully developed in decision-making
Wife: doesn’t have rational thinking, but can make small decisions
Servants: don’t have rational thinking, cant make decisions
*all have their seat in the house

Aristotle, Nicomachaean Ethics

  • Adult male rules as an aristocrat and is the best in his field
  • Women can deal with less important things
    • Female field of power and female virtue
  • Man should not rule over every aspect, leave women to control field
    • Worse is the women who rules in field of men
11
Q

Plato’s revolutionary ideas

A
  • Higher classes in charge of politics and common interests
  • Family and private interest are strictly tied
    • THUS oikos should be abolished*
  • Reproduction is a duty
  • To improve the city, privilege should be given to the best men and women
12
Q

Men and Women - 2 different races?

A

2 concepts that they could use to build a classification system:

a. genos “birth”, “race”
b. eidos “visible form”, “species”

13
Q

Plato and his changing ideas 2 races

A

The statesman: humankind is a race divided into 2 species: men and women

Republic: men and women share the same nature, but equality of men and women is different

- Men almost always better
- Principle of quality is not a statement of the value of women

Timaeus: Beginning, humans were all male, living among gods – no gender difference

- Later genos of women appeared because men who had been coward had 	been reincarnated as women
- Women is therefore a by-product of the loss of original perfection
14
Q

Aristotle and the problem of sexual difference

A
  • Sexual difference is connected with reproduction – genos
  • He thought genos is the reproduction of individuals having the same form (species)
  • Can be just one form to reproduce, but there are 2 genders = problem
  • Aristotle: in the human race (genos) only one form (eidos) is reproduced, that of the father
15
Q

Physicians of Cos

A
  • Practical approach, physicians have a different point of view on the role of females:
    • Female body gives an active contribution to generation
    • Female and male generative power
      • Combination produces a male child if the male side wins and a female if the female is stronger
  • Male principle is stronger, but if the female one is by far majority, it will prevail
16
Q

Can we trust literary sources to know the actual life of ancient Greek women?

A
  • artwork shows that women had access to education, music, dance, poetry, reading, etc.
  • Clear that their role as admins of the household and supervisors of all those who lived there except their kurios gave women a good deal of power in family relationships
17
Q

Symbol of female transgression

A
  • Amazons – women warriors, lived apart from men, if they had kids they would only keep the girls and raise them as warriors
  • Queen of the Amazons – Hippolyta – belt given from Ares
  • Maenads – followers of Dionysus
  • Thracian women (maenads) – killed Orpheus