In the past there were many different types of marriages that took place. These marriages are both interesting and fascinating to learn about! These weddings cannot compare to the weddings that take place today as they are genuine and full of many amazing ancient traditions. Depending on what culture the ceremonies came from, the weddings will of course be slightly different, but they are all fascinating to learn about.
The most common type of wedding from the ancient ages was the wedding of the patricians; the wedding of the rich and wealthy people of the culture. These weddings were events of the entire state or village. They were extravagant events that took the breath away of the townspeople that were privileged enough to witness this amazing event. These weddings were far more sophisticated and full of grace and dignity than the other types of weddings that occurred during this time period. The second most common type of wedding of this era was referred to as a “bride purchase”. These were the weddings of the poorer people of the country. A father would pay a man to marry his daughter in these days and the daughter had absolutely no say in the matter. She was never allowed to meet the man or make her own decision regarding the man she was to spend the rest of her life with. This is a type of marriage that in some cultures still is practiced to this day.
The marriages of the ancient times were sacred, but in a different way. The ceremonies were serious and there was a great deal of faith and money involved in these types of marriages. When it came to the husband he was not required to be faithful during these marriages. In ancient times it was not uncommon to hear of a man with six or seven different wives and families. This was seen as a masculine thing to do in those times. If a women however, was unfaithful to her husband she would be instantly labeled promiscuous and killed or exiled from her home. There were many differences between men and women in these times and the women seemed to put up with a lot from their husbands.
These ancient weddings and marriages evolved into what we see as marriage and weddings today. If it was not for these ancient weddings and their interesting traditions, it is hard to say if marriage would even exist today or in what form. Marriage is a commitment that can be dated back as far as history allows. It is a commitment and form of love that has been developing for many centuries now and will continue evolving after our time. These ancient weddings and cultures are incredible to study and learn what they thought of marriage and even how marriage came to be. The idea of marriage has been growing all this time and what we see today is not the final phase of marriage. It will grow and hopefully be more respected in the next century to come.