Jocelyn B Olson

Classics 114

Professor Hardy

February 28, 2002

Through his examination of the Greek texts Oeconomicos by Xenophon and Alcestis by Euripides, Nick has shown how two ideal Athenian marriages fostered a loving relationship between husband and wife. In his analysis, a fact that was emphasized was that these marriages made it possible for love to become present and to grow between the couple. However, this emphasis made apparent the lack of initial love between husband and wife, and especially the lack of passion between the two as any driving force behind the marriage itself. As Nick notes in Oeconomicos, Ischomachos "plans on putting forth the effort necessary to make their relationship strong, lasting, and loving" and Nick also describes how Ischomachos and his new wife "seem to recognize that there can and will be love present"; but -there isn’t any yet. In Alcestis, Nick also shows that Alcestis and Admetus have a strong bond, as Alcestis is willing to die for her husband, and although Admetus certainly seems to appreciate his wife’s sacrifice, there is never any demonstration of passion between the two. In these two texts, love seems to be a manifestation of affection and esteem as honorable behavior.

This lack of passion in the Greek texts is in great contrast with its universal presence within the Roman texts. In these stories, instead of love growing from marriage, often passionate love was a major driving force behind the actions of the characters. In The Brothers by Terence, Aeschinus falls in love with Pamphila, in his own words "loves her desperately" (lines 655-700), and speaks to his father about his future marriage, saying that "I’m so desperately anxious for this to be true that I’m afraid it isn’t" (lines 655-700). In the Aeneid, Dido is greatly affected by passion; at the opening of book four, she "all that evening ached/ With longing that her heart’s blood fed, a wound/ of inward fire eating her away" (lines 1-3). Dido’s love for Aeneas later drives her to suicide when she is faced with his loss. Finally, in the ultimate Roman love story, that of Daphnis and Chloe, Longus describes how his lovers were "delighted to see each other again, and miserable when parted" (sec. 22). Through these stories, it is understood that the Roman audience looked for an ideal of strong passionate love between a couple before marriage.

The loving relationships which Nick shows in his interpretation of Oeconomicos and Alecestis are examples of the functioning of an ideal Athenian marriage. This ideal marriage which exhibits a growth of love, contrasts greatly with the Roman view that if possible, passion between husband and wife should be present before marriage. This view is shown through many types of literature, such as Roman comedy, epic poetry, and novel.