This week, we only had two days of classes. On Tuesday, we visited the National Archaeological as a class again, and received a wonderful tour of the pottery exhibit from Will Austin, Ph.D. candidate from Princeton.
After that, we had 6 days off for Greek Orthodox Easter. More than three days off during a Carleton term is simply unheard of, so at first, this much of a break in the middle of an academic term was a bit daunting. However, with all of the Orthodox traditions that take place in Athens, and so much of Athens and Greece left to explore, I quickly found that 6 days was far too little time to experience Greece in its beautiful entirety. In this post, I will reflect on marriage in ancient Greece as depicted by some of the vase paintings and other artifacts I saw at both the Acropolis and National Archaeological Museums. Finally, I will give a brief synopsis of my break, featuring my time on a few Greek islands that I went to with my roommate!
I went to the Acropolis Museum earlier last week, and my first impressions were overwhelmingly positive. I was stunned by the breadth and depth of content covered in the exhibits—so much so that it took me two hours to complete just the first floor and a half! Other than the Benaki and the National Archaeological Museum, I would say it has been the best-curated museum that I’ve been to in Greece so far. Although many of the archaeological finds from the slopes of the Acropolis on display were incredible in their own right, I would like to focus on the items pertaining to marriage in ancient Athens.
First, there was the treasure box from the Sanctuary of Aphrodite Ouranos, which confused me upon first glance: to me, it just looked like a cement block with a small slot on top and an inscription on the front, and reminded me of a piggy bank. It turns out I was not too far off: upon doing some investigating into this curious object, I found out that it was a thesauros, or a collection box for monetary offerings. The object is composed of not just one cement block, but two, with one fitted atop of the other. The slot on the upper surface of the box was used as a place where people would insert coins. Indentations on the sides of the box were used as a locking mechanism for anti-theft purposes. The inscription on the front of the box reads “Treasure of pre-nupital offerings to Aphrodite Ourania.” And perhaps the most interesting aspect of the piece: an image of a silver drachm carved into the box below the inscription that indicates the sum required by Aphrodite of the wedding guests so that the new couple would have a happy life together. This object’s connection between Aphrodite and marriage piqued my interest, so I decided to delve a little deeper into the practice of marriage in ancient Greece (with a focus on Athens).
There are two competing stories of the birth of Aphrodite, coming from Hesiod and Homer. In Theogony, Hesiod describes the goddess originating from the excised genitals of Ouranos, the father of the Titans, on the island of Cyprus (Theogony, 178–208). One of the main ways in which the Greeks conceived of Aphrodite was her function as ‘mingler’ (mixis): “She is the goddess of the blending of bodies both a sexual and marital meaning, she represents the union of sky, land, and sea (Cyrino 5). In the fourth century, Aphrodite was split into two aspects: Ourania, which is linked to a higher form of love, and Pandemos, which is more in line with prostitution (Burket 155). Despite the goddess’ connection to marital love, she is depicted in myth as an adulteress and homewrecker, displaying her relative power and freedom in comparison to mortal Greek women. Many of her lovers in myths end up suffering or dead, which could cast Aphrodite as a cautionary tale for women on how not to behave, or for men to keep their women on short leashes (Buckle 5). She was married to Hephaistos, the god of forge and fire, and their marriage was rife with troubles and affairs; despite this, Aphrodite remained married only to him (Buckle 6). Despite Aphrodite being one of the few Olympians to be married and have children and her being the goddess of love and fertility, the actual role of the goddess of marriage lay with Hera (Burkert 133). Ironically, Hera did not have a happy marriage with Zeus (who was also her brother, which upends the taboo of incest in Greek society!), but she stayed faithful to her husband (Harris and Platzner 185). According to a myth in which Zeus rewards Hephaistos for helping his mother, Zeus grants the god the choice of marrying either Athena or Aphrodite (Gantz 75-76). From what I have read so far concerning the connection between myth and societal beliefs and practices, perhaps this depiction of marriage as a transaction—and notably dominated by males, with a conspicuous absence of female opinion and agency—would have been right in step with the ancient Greeks’ marriage beliefs. One artifact that I saw that slightly confused me given Hera’s identity as the goddess of marriage was an Attic red-figure epinetron, with the bride Alcestis on the Epaulia (day after the wedding), and another bride, Harmonia, with Aphrodite, Eros, and a few others. However, Hera was nowhere to be found. Also, on the front of the epinetron is a depiction of the goddess Aphrodite, Although this is just one artifact, I wonder to what extent there was a disconnect between Hera’s status as goddess of marriage and her actual association with the practice—as opposed to Aphrodite—with marriage.
The myth of Aphrodite and Ares’ love affair could—as arguably all myths, in some respect, do—reflect the beliefs of the culture of ancient Greece concerning marriage. The ancient Greeks had strict rules concerning marriage, especially so for women. The love between the couple-to-be was secondary, although once marriage was completed, a bond of love was considered important between the betrothed. (Aphrodite was considered by the Greeks to be the portrayal of this sentiment.) Conversely, the passing on of property and ensuring the continuation of progeny were the primary goals of the institution (Buckle 4, 10).
Another series of artifacts that interested me at the Acropolis Museum was the collection of vases found in the small, open-air Sanctuary of the Nymph on the southern slope of the Acropolis, between the two larger sanctuaries of Dionysos Eleuthereus and Asklepios. One particularly stunning specimen is the lutophoros with female flute players, depicting a wedding procession with Apollo and Hermes present. Using the black figure technique, the vase depicts two scenes of a wedding ceremony. The first is on the neck and depicts a procession of flute-playing and torch-bearing women. The second is on the body of the vase, and depicts the moment when the young bride is moved to the groom’s house with the help of the gods, “whose presence elevates the status of the marriage and highlights its sanctity” (Acropolis
Museum). The bride and groom sit atop a four-horse chariot. The procession is led by Hermes, and the god Apollo can be found nearby, guiding the newlyweds to their life together. To me, the most poignant section of the vase is the bride’s mother, “who holds a torch lit from the family hearth whose flame will protect her daughter until she reaches her new home” (Acropolis Museum). Seeing this beautiful vase, with the figures so animated and lifelike, made me wonder what it would have been like to attend one of these marriage ceremonies. The ceremony lasted for three days, and in Athens, preferably took place during the full moon of the month of Gamelion, or when the marriage of Hera and Zeus was said to have taken place (Younger 103). It seems that even back then, weddings were a communal celebration, and especially for those who were linked by kinship. Wedding guests acted as witnesses of the new bond, since there was no formal registration of the marriage. Even before I read more about marriage in ancient Greece, and just from the depictions on some of the vases I saw, I got the impression that weddings were lively events, with lots of guests, merriment, and ornate displays of wealth. If this impression is correct, then it reminds me a bit of the way in which the Olympics were used that we discussed last week: public events that created a shared sense of community. Although the Olympics displayed power on the level of the city-state, my guess is that weddings showed the power and wealth of individual families, which would have added to their reputation and prestige. Overall, I really enjoyed seeing these beautiful—and remarkably well-curated—artifacts at both museums and letting them guide me down a path of more focused inquiry after the fact.
And now, just briefly, to share a bit of what I did outside of Athens over break! My roommate and I went to a couple of islands, including Agistri, Poros, and Hydra. At Agistri, we rented bikes and went to the beach. Although it was a beautiful island, we were a bit surprised by how sleepy it was. Poros was even more beautiful, and had a bit more going on. We went to a (albeit small) archaeological museum, ate one of the most delicious meals of the trip, and caught some amazing views.
Hydra, however, was far and away the best. Dubbed ‘Leonard Cohen’s Island’ (which I’m not sure how I feel about, although I do thoroughly enjoy his music), this island had an excellent modern Greek history museum and a gorgeous hike along the coast. The absolute highlight of my whole break, however, was getting to ride a horse up and down a mountain, and through town. I don’t really have anything intellectual to say about the trip, other than that I can see why so many people throughout the ages have found the island so charming. I would love to go back someday. I cannot believe that we are more than halfway through with our OCS trip, and I cannot wait to see what Central Greece has in store for us this weekend. Cheers!
Sources: Acropolis Museum Website; Hesiod. Theogony. Translated by M L West, Oxford ; New York, Clarendon Press, 1997. ; Cyrino, Monica S., Aphrodite, Routledge, London, 2010. ; Burkert, W., Greek Religion Archaic and Classical, trans., Raffan, J., Blackwell Publishers, Oxford, 2001. ; Harris, S. L., and Platzner, G., Classical Mythology Images & Insights, 4th edition, McGraw-Hill, New York, 2004. ; Gantz, Timothy, Early Greek myth: a guide to literary and artistic sources, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993. ; MacLachlan, Bonnie, Women in Ancient Greece : A Sourcebook, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2012. ; Buckle, Lisa, Myth, Marriage, and Aphrodite -Greek attitudes to marriage, University of New England, 2022.