Encyclopedia of Society and Culture in the Ancient World

In essence, one could create a free workforce. Little evidence points to polygynous relationships among middle- and lower- class ...

was the couple’s failure to have children, specifi cally a male heir to continue the family line. In most such cases, however, t ...

cius focused on devising a system of ethics that all morally upstanding persons were to live by. While much of Confu- cianism sp ...

Europe. Archaeologists believe that during the Paleolithic and Mesolithic, society was organized into bands of perhaps several d ...

class. Celtic husbands had to pay a bride-price to the family of the bride. Th e bride kept a portion of this bride-price, which ...

ther-in-law, in turn, promised a dowry, a certain amount of property that accompanied his daughter into marriage. Th e dowry was ...

her children from the fi rst marriage. Th rough inscriptions on tombs ancient Greeks would sometimes try to speak to a dead spou ...

resume relations with their husbands. Women also knew that breast-feeding could delay the next pregnancy; some chose to breast-f ...

governing group of lineages composed of warrior elites who held political and religious offi ces; a middle class of artisans, wh ...

shekels of money as her alimony. Th ey swore by Shamash, Marduk, their king Shamshu-ilu-na, and Sippar. Contract for Marriage, T ...

BOOK III, CHAPTER 2, CONCERNING MARRIAGE AND WOMEN Marriage is the basis of all disputes. Th e giving in marriage of a virgin we ...

FURTHER READING M. M. Austin and P. Vidal-Naquet, Economic and Social History of Ancient Greece: An Introduction (Berkeley: Univ ...

tated by the cycle of the seasons, and even in warmer climates, cycles of fl ooding and dry seasons dictated many activities. Th ...

vals they respect include New Year, Yom Kippur, Sucot, and Passover. Th ey also had a special day to celebrate the Torah, which ...

formed in the temple. Such calendars were probably copied from liturgical papyrus rolls kept in the temple archives. Dat- ing to ...

life was interrupted by various festivals that were part of the cultic calendar, the schedule of interaction between a com- muni ...

ASIA AND THE PACIFIC BY MICHAEL ALLEN HOLMES Th roughout Asia many ancient festivals had origins in the natural world. As early ...

EUROPE BY AMY HACKNEY BLACKWELL Th e people of Europe celebrated festivals that marked the seasons dividing the year. Th ere wer ...

Celtic god Lugh, the god of the sun and agricultural fertility. Th e harvest season began at this time and lasted until the end ...

tragedians submitted four plays, a trilogy of tragedies, and a so-called satyr play. Th e Dionysia ran for fi ve or six days. Th ...