Growing up in Ancient Greece

When having a child, most parents in Ancient Greece wanted a boy.  A  boy carries on the family name, helps with more laborious duties with his father, and also takes a plot of the family land to start his own family.  Having a boy also meant that the family had more of a chance to gain power in politics because women were not allowed to pursue careers in government.  

When a child was born they were checked over immediately for health problems.  Especially in ancient cities like Sparta, it was important that the child would be able to maintain good health in order to stay alive under the harsh conditions of the ancient world.  The majority of children that were "discarded" were girls since there was less of a chance she would be useful if she had a health condition.  If a child was rejected they were often left outside to die.  Many people adopted found babies and raised them as slaves.  Once a child was given the okay, they spent the majority of their time with their Mother or a slave who specialized in baby care.  

Once grown to the age of three or so, boys began to work with their Father from time to time.  They were taught the family trade whether it was farming, trading or other important jobs in society. Young girls at his age remained at the house where they were meant to complete household duties with their Mothers. 

Once a young boy got to the age of about thirteen they often took up apprenticeships with older men.   These apprenticeships including a range of jobs but most included a form of pederasty.  Pederasty is the sexual relationship between a man and a young boy which was widely accepted in Ancient Greek society.  These erotic relationships were not frowned upon and often seen as a right of passage for young boys.  Pederasty is depicted in a number of ancient artifacts from Ancient Greece.

Above is a fresco found on a wall of the house of a Greek colony in Italy.  This depicts two older men and two younger men during an erotic moment.  As you can see this was a social matter and men often got together with other men to spend time with their younger lovers.  This fresco clearly demonstrates how these types of relationships were accepted in the Ancient Greek culture. 

Young girls around the age of thirteen were expected to be married as soon as possible.  The most desirable girls were betrothed as early as 9 while other girls might wait till the age of 16 at the latest.  If not able to find a husband girls would often become priestesses.   Once a man took her to be his wife the girls father paid a dowry and after a short celebration, the girl and man were officially wed.  Wealthier families had more elaborate weddings in which the bride was taken to the mans house in a horse drawn carriage.  

Comparing Ancient Greece to now shows just how difficult life was back then.  It is clear that life was not meant for the weak and therefore only the strongest survived till adulthood.    I think it's interesting how girls were expected to do one type of chore and boys to follow their fathers.  However, todays society is not much different.  We give young girls pink rooms and dolls while we give boys blue rooms and toy cars.  Most girls grow up to be teachers or even secretaries while boys are meant to be leading business men or take care of the heavy labor.  Even though women have been making big strides in businesses, they still face discrimination.