ABSTRACT
Chapter 4 focuses on the marital bond at the center of the oikos, as well as alternative unions. Section 4.2 discusses the changes in the definition of marriage throughout the classical period as these were dictated by law and social practice. I argue that such changes are a close reflection of historical, political, economic and cultural changes in the classical period. Section 4.3 discusses what Athenian law defined as lawful marriage in the various stages of the evolution of the institution throughout the classical period. The next section discusses alternative unions, especially concubinage, which Athenian law and custom recognized as part of the family structure, albeit inferior to lawful marriage.
