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HISTORY / LORE:

To arrange a marriage, the groom obtains the consent of the bride, through a go-between, and of her father. When it is arranged, there are two marriage ceremonies of which only the first is required for a legal marriage.

The first marriage is at the house of the bride's father or guardian and is called engue. It consists of the legalities, the bride offering her childhood toys to Artemis Eukleia, the bride cutting her hair and offering it to Athena, and the giving of gifts from the groom as the bride price. The bride and groom bathe (no not together, that comes later) accompanied by hymns to Hymen for the birth of healthy children. During this time, the father of the bride makes sacrifices to Zeus Teleios, Hera Teleia, Artemis Eukleia and Aphrodite. In typical Hellenic fashion, these sacrifices make up the feast for all the guests. During the feast, a child offers bread (symbolic of the transition from the wilds to civilization) while saying "They have escaped evil. They have found the good." During this whole ritual, the bride remains veiled and surrounded by her close friends.

Next is the procession which comes between the two marriages. As they leave the bride's father's house, the numpheutria (the matron who conducts the ceremony) unveils the bride and presents her to the groom. Hermes leads the procession, then comes the chariot with the bride between the groom and the best man, followed by the mother of the bride bringing torches lit at the hearth of the bride's father. Finally, the rest of the guests bring the bride's belongings and dowry. The bride brings a seive of barley as an offering to the new hearth. During the procession there is much laughing, drinking and music (which may make it a bit hard on the brides belongings). The procession is greeted at the grooms house by the grooms mother to welcome them.

At the house of the groom is the second marriage called gamos. As the first marriage transports the bride from the father to the groom, this marriage transforms the bride into the center of the household. At a smaller feast, the bride is offered sweetmeats and dried fruit from the hearth to greet her. Both the bride and the groom are given foods to promote fertility such as cakes of sesame and quinces. The bride and groom retire to the wedding chamber where they consummate the marriage while the best man guards the door. Wedding gifts arrive for the next two days while the bride and groom remain secluded. These wedding gifts belong to the couple unlike the bride price and the dowry which belong to the children or are returned if there are no children and the marriage fails.

MODERN VIEWPOINT:

I have put this sequence of events together from several sources on the customs of several cities and of several times during the Hellenic period. I'll leave the details of a modern version of this to those who are better at it than I. The only other thing I'd like to mention is that there are no wedding vows. As in most Hellenic rituals, there is more emphasis on the symbolic things done rather than What is said.

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