Singlehood

Published on 4th September, 2021, in Economic Times. Zeus, king of the gods, in Greek mythology had children by many women, both mortal and immortal, nymphs and goddesses and titans. But he had only one wife. The Roman Empire celebrated monogamy and legitimate children, but the reason for this was not moral, it was legal. It made property transmission easier. The virginity and fidelity of the wife guaranteed the heir was one’s own. Prohibition of widow remarriage ensured property did not go to another man. Cousin marriages ensured property stayed within the family. Such compulsions were not there in families where there was no land ..