Ancient Greece Marriage, Life, and Adolescence

Greek Girlhood Up until the age of 12 Greek girls lived with their mothers. They received their education and training from their mothers. Girls reached puberty at around the age of 12 to 13 and around that time they were expected to get married. At this time they would take their childhood toys to the temple of Artemis and leave them there. This signified that their childhood was over and they were becoming young adults

Greek Marriage During Ancient Greece times it was the fathers obligation to arrange his daughters marriage. There were arrange meetings between father and the couple. Girls got married around the ages 12 to 15 and her husband would sometimes be up to twice their age. Girls had little to no say in who she wanted to marry. Before the wedding the father of the daughter had to give the husband a dowry or something of great value.

Greek marriage The wedding ceremony lasted three days. In those three days certain rituals and customs were performed. After she was married she would have to take on the new role of being a wife that cooks and cleans for her husband and family. If a woman started to have an affair with another man her husband could legally kill her. However, if the wife wanted to divorce her husband she would have to leave his house and find a new place to live and the husband would have to give his dowry back.

Higher level Questions Why were girls married so young, and to men who were twice their age? Why didn’t girls have little to no rights in their marriage and the way they lived? Why were many women okay with being portrayed inferior to men?

Bibliography Carmen E. Pagán, Copyright Manager. (2003).Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. http://library.eb.com.ezproxy1.azlibrary.gov:2048/levels/ref erencecenter/search/articles?query=greek+marriage&include LevelThree=false Donn,Lin. Ancient Greek Women.(2015) http://www.mrdonn.org/stories.html "The Acropolis in Athens." UPI Photo Collection. 2012. Student Resources in Context. Web. 2 Sept. 2015.

Greek Adolescence Spartan boys were forced to leave their homes at the age of seven to prepare for the military. They would train from the ages of seven to eighteen. They were forced to sleep in barracks and taught survival skills. The boys of Sparta were illiterate meaning they never learned how to read or write. The children were fed poorly but they were allowed to steal food as long as they didn’t get caught. However, in Athens boys would begin their education at the age of 18. They would be taught how to deal with peace and war he wealthy families would have their kids start school earlier. The kids would be taught by a tutor, male slave, or even their mom

Greek Adolescence Girls in Sparta would train just like boys up to the age of 18. If girl passed all of her classes she would be assigned a husband and would be allowed to return home. However, in Athens at age 14 students would study music, art gymnastics, math , science, and they would read the Odyssey. Women would stay at home with their mom and learn mom and learn how to be a mother and to be a good housewife until they were married.

Higher level questions Why were men more focused on than woman? Why were Spartans so focused on war? How does our lives today compare and contrast to Greece?

Bibliography Nardo, Don (2003) a travel guide to Ancient Athens, lucent books, Farmington hills Michigan Senker, Cath,(2001) everyday life in Ancient Greece, Mcrae books, Florence Italy Tames, Richard, (2003) Ancient Greek children, red educational professional and publishing, Chicago Illinois

Greek Boys Greek Boys were considered a big part in Greek Society and culture. They were the future and were the future of the family, since they are next in line to become the man of the house. To make sure of their greatness, they were put in school, and even war training.

Education and Training The boys of Greece were put in the highest schools that their parents can afford. They were treated with respect as the man of the house is, all the slaves would know that he is the to be master so they equally respected him as they would his father. Their education was an important aspect throughout most of Ancient Greece but more so in Athens. In places like Sparta they would focus on making the kid a killing machine for going to war and dying was the highest honor a Spartan would want to receive.

Life They would mostly want to be brought up as great so they can live a great and peaceful life, and to promote the family name. Greeks loved to boast about their families and kids to others and to be recognized without even knowing the person was great. That is almost like todays way of being vine famous, a lot of people will know you. The fathers would want a successful kid so by about age 7, they would start school and get the highest education they got. They were also put in gymnastics to show strength and athleticism, the more skilled your boy was, the better.

Bibliography "Ancient Greek civilization." Britannica School. Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., 2015. Web. 1 Sep. 2015. <http://library.eb.com.ezproxy1.azlibrary.gov:2048/levels/referencecenter /article/106269>. “The Spartan Childhood” HistoryWiz.HistoryWiz.Web.8/30/15. http://www.historywiz.com/didyouknow/spartanfamily.htm “Culture & Society” Ancient Greece.ancientgreece.University Press.Web.9/01/15.< http://www.ancientgreece.com/s/Culture/>

Higher Level Questions Why were men so important in Greek society? Why would they treaty women any lesser? How was education and athleticism a way to determine if a boy was a disgrace or a to be hero?