A brief history of ancient marriage
Perhaps the greatest ancient love story, the myth of Eros and Psyche has lent itself to interpretation. Some have said it represents the transformative power love (Eros) has on the soul (Psyche). Or perhaps it signifies love’s ability to connect soul with the unseen divine. It could be said to symbolise the union of opposites, mortal and immortal, matter and spirit. This story may even pose a solution to how to prevent one’s inner capacity for love and desire leading one astray and causing chaos to oneself and others. Namely, by uniting soul and love within oneself, and so realising that we are love and are loved.
Many a lyricist has made the link between love and eternity. Significantly at the end of the story Psyche is elevated to the status of immortal through consuming a sip of Zeus’ ambrosia, thus she too was raised to the status of immortal, thus sanctifying the marriage as a union between equals, which by definition is required for it to be a union in the true sense of the word. The same link between love and heaven is made in the Gospel of John which reads, “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.”
Erotic love was condemned by many throughout history. As most of us no doubt know from experience, desire can cause more trouble than its worth. It is not necessarily wrong but unless it is balanced out by compassion for one’s soul and others it invariably leads to problems. This is perhaps why ancient marriage had very little to do with love and much to do with practicalities.
The wedding feast to celebrate the union of Eros and Psyche is celebrated by the Greaco-Roman gods and is one of the earliest iconic examples of a wedding feast in literature. The Feast of the Gods became a popular depiction for artists. Its earliest mention seems to come in the first complete telling of the story which is from the 2nd century Roman author Apuleius.
Eros and Psyche’s marriage in front of the gods serves to sanctify the love affair through following proper ritual procedure for a Roman marriage. To this day marriage vows are often made in the presence of God.
Modern western marriage owes much to Roman influence. Before then marriage had been a contract between two families which bought them each some sort of hierarchal advantage. In first century AD Rome marriage was still a business affair rather than about love. But the origins of many wedding traditions date back to Ancient Rome. These include catching something thrown by the bride, the bride being carried over the threshold by the groom, and engagement rings which were put on the left hand which the Roman’s associated with the heart. So perhaps it wasn’t a completely loveless affair.
Wedding feasts may also have originated in Roman times. They date back at least to Emperor Augustus who stipulated a maximum cost of a wedding feast. The only earlier reference to a wedding feast I can find is the New Testament Wedding of Cana where Jesus is said to have turned water into wine. However, this account is only in the Gospel of John which is a Greek text written c.70 years after Jesus’ death so we can’t rule out it being a symbolic story added by authors of this last canonical gospel. It could have been another attempt to give Jesus the attributes of the Greek demi-god Dionysus, whose speciality was wine-making. Moreover, modern scholars have failed to conclusively locate Cana unlike other locations in the gospels. The only other times it’s mentioned is in the Gospel of John and the name Cana is suspiciously similar to cena the Roman word for dinner party. Moreover, it is said to have taken place ‘on the third day’ of Jesus’ ministry which John suggests starts straight after Jesus’ baptism. This conflicts with the other three gospels who say that Jesus went into the wilderness after this. As wedding feasts at the time were distinctly Roman there is a possibility it could have happened as there was a strong Roman influence in Galilee at the time.
If it was a Roman wedding these usually took place in June to honour the goddess Juno, wife of Jupiter, the Roman version of Zeus. However, this wouldn’t line up with the date of Passover which is mentioned in the next passage of the Gospel of John. There is of course the possibility that the account was fitted into the gospel by the author without knowing where in Jesus’ life it dated from.
Overall, I appreciate the Gospel of John more as a symbolic gospel with hints of history. The earlier three gospels are considered by most scholars as having more historical rigour to them with the elements that they share in common being most likely to have actually happened.