1. Marriage, Its
Past and Present
By: Kelly Cao
Div. 1

2. Marriage In Ancient Egypt
 In ancient Egypt, all people could
only have one partner or mate.
 People only had marriage with the
same class people as they were.
E.g. A slave could only marry a
slave, and a middle class man
could only marry a girl from a
middle class family.
 Marriages between cousins and
nieces were very
common, because Egyptian Gods
did the same.

3. The Marriage In Ancient Egypt
 A marriage was also a scarce bond
between the man and the woman.
 Brides were really young that time, aging
from 15-16 or even younger.
 Husbands were usually 17-20 years old.
Some were even older.
 Ancient Egyptians liked to marry young
girls because people died very early(no
offence! ).

4. Marriage In Ancient Egypt
 Since people all had short lives, girls
would get married after getting their
periods.
 Divorce in ancient Egypt occurred
usually because the couple didn’t get
along well.
 When divorced, the woman would
move to her parent’s house and get
remarried and have more children.
 Getting divorced didn’t change one’s
life too much.

5. Marriage in Mesopotamia
 When a woman got
married, she would become a
part of the husband’s family.
 When the woman was
married, the man’s family was
in charge of the ceremony.
 They would also have a huge
feast at the couples’ new home
and everything would be paid
by the husband’s side of the
family.

6. Marriage in Mesopotamia
 Also, according to Hammurabi’s law code, wives
could be bought and sold, just like slaves at that
time.
 Divorce in Mesopotamia was acceptable. When
the two people wanted to get divorced, the man
just needed to return the money (price of the
woman) and their bond would be broken.
 The word husband, if translated, would mean “the
owner of a wife”.

7. Marriage in Ancient Rome
 Ancient Romans could only marry
once in their whole life time.
 In Ancient Rome, the bride had
to be 12 years or older and the
groom had to be 14 years or older.
 No couple in Rome could ever
divorce, so when they were
choosing their life long
partners, they would do it carefully.

8. Marriage in Ancient Rome
 When getting married in ancient Rome, the couple
must show consent, and one way to do it was for
them is to hold hands in the public.
 There was always an engagement between the
couple, which was usually a ring (wedding ring in
modern times).
 The bride’s family would prepare some of her
basic needs. The groom’s family had to provide
clothing, slaves, furniture, and jewels for the
bride, but these remained the property of the
groom’s family.

9. Marriage in Ancient Rome
 On the day of the marriage, the bride
would be dressed by her mother and
also, tied the “Knot of
Hercules”(Hercules was the god who
was in charge of life after the wedding)
 ›After the wedding ceremony, the bride
would be carried over to the new home
by the groom and light the fire-place
with a “marriage” torch.
 ›When the fire was lighted, the bride
would blow out the torch and toss it to
the guests, which is just like the flower
bouquet that we toss in modern days.

10. Marriage in Ancient China
 When Chinese people wanted to get
married, the groom’s side of the family had to
give gifts to the bride’s side of the family.
 The gifts were usually money or treasures
(something that’s really expensive).
 Before the marriage, the bride and groom’s
birthdays had to be taken to a fortune teller
who would see what their future
would be like.

11. Marriage in Ancient China
 The reasons for ancient Chinese to get
divorced were:
 ›The woman could not get pregnant or have a
son.
 ›The woman might have said too much that
was forbidden in the family.
 ›The woman was a thief.

12. Marriage in Modern Canada
 Marriage in Canada is just like that in all other
modern countries.
 First, you plan the date to get married;
then, you present your personal
information, your ID (passport, driver’s license
or birth certificate).
 Also, marriage is achieved through free will.
No one is forced to get married.

13. Marriage in Modern Canada
 Canadians have the same marriage customs
as people from many modern countries.
When the woman is married to the man, her
last name will be changed into her husband’s.
 Men and women have the same status in
marriage, and divorces are usually carried out
peacefully.
 Divorce is possible when the marriage has
been totally broken down beyond
retrieval, such as the wife and husband have
been separated for more than one
year, continuous mental or physical
abuse, etc.

14.  AJDMBA. "An Ancient Roman Wedding Ceremony 1930s Card." An Ancient Roman
Wedding Ceremony 1930s Card. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2013.
<http://www.ebay.com/itm/An-Ancient-Roman-Wedding-Ceremony-1930s-Card-
/350482261422>. A picture from E- Bay.
 Andrews, Evan. "11 Things You May Not Know about Ancient Egypt." 11 Things You May
Not Know about Ancient Egypt. Evan Andrews, n.d. Web. 9 Apr. 2013.
<http://www.history.com/news/history-lists/11-things-you-may-not-know-about-ancient-
egypt>. The second picture about ancient Egyptian marriage.
 "Chinese Wedding Culture." Radom Person's Blog. Fu Tian Wen, n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2013.
<http://futian.wen.blog.163.com/blog/static/13014222120119163390615/>. From a
Chinese Website.
 "Chinese Weddings." Chinese Weddings. Baidu, n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2013.
<http://baike.baidu.com/view/724573.htm>. From a Chinese Website. (Like Wikipedia)
 Dunn, Jimmy. "Egypt: Marriage in Ancient Egypt." Egypt: Marriage in Ancient Egypt.
Jimmy Dunn, n.d. Web. 9 Apr. 2013.
<http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/marriage.htm>. The Info about marriage in
ancient Egypt.
 Government of Canada. "Getting Married." Getting Married. Government of Canada, n.d.
Web. 17 Apr. 2013. <http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/lifeevents/marriage.shtml>. The
needs to get married.
 Kutay, Hollace. "The Art behind Weddings." The Art behind Weddings. Hollace Kutay, n.d.
Web. 17 Apr. 2013. <http://sites.psu.edu/hollacerclblog/2013/02/07/the-art-behind-
weddings/>. Pictures of wedding scenes.

15.  "Marriage Ceremony in Ancient Rome." Marriage Ceremony in Ancient Rome.
All Posters., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2013. <http://www.allposters.co.uk/-sp/Marriage-
Ceremony-in-Ancient-Rome-Posters_i4230406_.htm>. A picture for All
Posters, there is no artist and the picture is for sale.
 Marriages of Convenience Still Exist in Canada. Marriages of Convenience Still
Exist in Canada. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2013. <http://immig-
canada.blogspot.ca/2010/11/marriages-of-convenience-still-exist-in.html>. A
picture that was taken as part of the writing's explanation.
 Martin, Phillip, ed. "Ancient Roman Weddings- Ancient Rome for Kids." Ancient
Roman Weddings- Ancient Rome for Kids. Phillip Martin, n.d. Web. 14 Apr.
2013. <http://rome.mrdonn.org/weddings.html>. The website for ancient Roman
weddings.
 "Mesopotamian Marriage Law." Mesopotamian Marriage Law. Wikipedia, n.d.
Web. 17 Apr. 2013.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesopotamian_Marriage_Law>. Info about
Mesopotamian Marriage Laws.
 Sacred Prostitution. Sacred Prostitution. Wkipedia, n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2013.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_prostitution>. A picture from Wikipedia.
 Wikipedia. "Chinese Marriage." Chinese Marriage. Wikipedia, n.d. Web. 17 Apr.
2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_marriage>. The page where I
search for Chinese marriage/ Divorce.
 - - -. "Marriage in Ancient Rome." Marriage in Ancient Rome. Wikipedia, n.d.
Web. 17 Apr. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriage_in_ancient_Rome>.
A picture from Wikipedia.
 - - -, ed. "Marriage in Canada." Marriage in Canada. Wikipedia, n.d. Web. 17
Apr. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriage_in_Canada>. About divorce/
marriage in Canada.

17. The End!!!