In this part of our series on marriage in ancient Greek texts, we look at the courtship phase. Benveniste shows that there is no Indo-European term for marriage but a "persistence of usages inherited from a common past and of the same family structure, where the husband “led” the young woman, whom her father has “given” him, to his home." In the ancient Greek tradition, how do fathers reach the… Read more
A wedding ceremony is a celebratory marker for the bride and groom as well as for their two families. Further, this joyful event, rich with rituals, extends to the community that the bride and groom are part of. In ancient Greece, weddings were celebrated with many customs and rituals attached. The roles were assigned and expected to be performed according to traditions. In this post, let us journey through wedding… Read more
In this post we are going to examine some aspects of marriage, and its music which come traditionally with singing and dancing. In today’s marriages music, singing and dancing play an essential role in rituals and traditions. Music is played at the beginning of the ceremony, carefully chosen songs are sung during the ceremony, and people dance and sing during the feast. Were rituals and traditions related to music in… Read more
In part 1, we looked at dreams as represented in Homeric epic. In part 2, we continue our exploration with some passages from tragedy, comedy, history, philosophy, and lyric poetry, representing different types of dream, whether direct messages or coded symbols. Read more
Night bore also hateful Destiny, and black Fate, and Death; she bore Sleep [Hupnos] likewise, she bore the tribe of Dreams [Oneiroi]; these did the goddess, gloomy Night bear after union with none. In the Homeric epics, dreams sometimes play an important part in the narrative. In this post we look at some examples, and how people react in response. Read more
