Monogamy and polygyny in Greece, Rome, and world history
Scheidel, Walter
Princeton/Stanford Working Papers in Classics, June 2008
Abstract: In what sense were the ancient Greeks and Romans monogamous, and why does it matter? This paper summarizes the physical and anthropological record of polygyny, briefly sketches the historical expansion of formal monogamy, considers complementary theories of mate choice, and situates Greco-Roman practice on a spectrum from traditional polygamy to more recent forms of normative monogyny.
Greek and Roman men were not allowed to be married to more than one wife at a time and not meant to cohabit with concubines during marriage, and not even rulers were exempt from these norms. That these facts have generally received little attention and occasioned no surprise among historians specializing in this period bespeaks a remarkable lack of cross-cultural awareness. Greco-Roman monogamy may well appear unexceptional from a modern Western perspective but was far from common at the time. My paper seeks to put this institution in context.
Click here to read/download this article (PDF file)
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Scheidel, Walter
Princeton/Stanford Working Papers in Classics, June 2008
Abstract: In what sense were the ancient Greeks and Romans monogamous, and why does it matter? This paper summarizes the physical and anthropological record of polygyny, briefly sketches the historical expansion of formal monogamy, considers complementary theories of mate choice, and situates Greco-Roman practice on a spectrum from traditional polygamy to more recent forms of normative monogyny.
Greek and Roman men were not allowed to be married to more than one wife at a time and not meant to cohabit with concubines during marriage, and not even rulers were exempt from these norms. That these facts have generally received little attention and occasioned no surprise among historians specializing in this period bespeaks a remarkable lack of cross-cultural awareness. Greco-Roman monogamy may well appear unexceptional from a modern Western perspective but was far from common at the time. My paper seeks to put this institution in context.
Click here to read/download this article (PDF file)
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