Ancient Greek Family Structure

Most Greek family , like most  families throughout history, lived in families with a mother and a father and their children. Each family member played a role that included differnt responsibilities. Think of you and your family. What are some of the responsibilities you have at home, and also think about the roles that each person in your home play.  We all come from differnt family structures, some might live with only mom or only with dad, or  with a distant relative. After watching this video list some of the differences you noticed in the families and some of the similiarties. Also reflect on how these families are similiar and different to your own family. http://youtu.be/POofYM4ZiKg

 Now lets disscuss the families in Ancient Greece and how they lived. 

Greeks at home
The man was in charge of the home and of his family. Most men worked during the day as businessmen or farmers. When they were at home, they were treated with great respect and honor. When it was time to eat, the men laid on couches and were fed and entertained by the slaves while the women and children ate in another room.
Men were given the most responsibility and, therefore, were considered the most important people in ancient Greece.
Women spent most of their tiime in the house, their most important tasks were; from having children,  running the household and managing the slaves. Women who were not as  wealthy did not have slaves  there for they  house whole chores were their responsibilities  only.  Women who lived in farms and were considered pesants were in charge of working the fields/ farms.
 

Most Greek houses were small, with a closed up  garden or yard in the middle. The house was made of sun-dried mud brick. Mud houses crumbled away in a few years, and had to rebuild. The house had a roof of clay tiles, and small windows, with no glass, but wooden shutters to keep out the hot sun.

 Much like  in our families , ancient greek families all had roles to play and responsibilities.  The Men in Greece wore special clothes. Every Greek man owned differnt "chitons", long pieces of cloth with holes for the head and arms. The chitons were decorated based on the man's status in society. 

  In Ancient Greece women dressed in clothes much like the ones that the men wore . If you were married to a rich man, your "chiton" would have been made of brightly colored wool or linen.   Ancient greek women also wore wore wigs and makeup. Women didn't have as many privileges as men in ancient Greece. An example of this is that women were not allowed to eat or sleep in the same room as men, go to the Olympics, or go into the marketplace or streets of the city. http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/ancient_greeks/home_life/

http://youtu.be/MPF6crPwrx0

Boys and girls had different roles in ancient Greece. Girls grew up helping their mothers doing all the chores that the mother did , this was a form of training the young gilrs to what they would be doing once they became married . All girls were taught to cook, weave, and clean. Girls also learned ancient secret songs and dances so they could participate in the differnt religious celebrations.  Most girls did not have the opportunity to learn or go t school , things like reading a writting was not commo for girls to learn to do. The lucky girls were taught to read and write by their mothers. At age 15, the girls of wealthy families were expected to marry the man that their father chose for them this is called an arranged marriage.  Young girls who werent wealthy and considered to be peasant girls found their own husbands while working in the fields

Boys were considered to be more important than girls like the men were considered to be more important than women.  The young boys were able to learn to read and write and were sent to school at age 6. At school they learned the alphabet, add on an abacus, and enjoy poetry and music. Boys were expected to have a healthy mind and body. The young boys were expected to grow up to be strong minded and strong physical bodies. They trained their bodies by  participating in gymnastics -- this included wrestling, running, jumping, and throwing the javelin.  A javelin is a long spear used for throwing and fighting.

At age 16, boys began to train for their future jobs like thier fathers . If they wanted to be in the army, they would have started training at age 7 and entered the army at age 20. "Spartans" were a greek civilization that trained their young boys from the age of 7 to train to be army men and fighters. The Spartans were one of the strongest armies during these times.http://www.historywiz.com/didyouknow/spartanfamily.htm