Οικογένεια και πόλις

The following essay is focusing on J. Redfield’s view for the family in ancient Greece. It is a fact that in ancient Greek society, the institution of the family was the means of protection of persons and property. The political and biological continuity of the house was marked through social practices (marriage, inheritance, child rearing, religious rituals) and presupposed specific roles for both men and women. Developing the care of the family in the city-state of Athens and Sparta both for the transfer of goods and in the shaping of the social roles of the two sexes, we will try to assess whether the Greeks perceived the family as an organic element of the city-state.