Bharatwiki Socrates at 08:14, 24 November 2023

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In ancient Athens, '''epigamia''' ({{lang-grc|ἐπιγαμία}}) designated the legal right to contract a marriage. In particular it regulated the right of intermarrying into another city-state. In the period of Athenian democracy, such intermarriage was not allowed, and only a decree of the popular assembly could permit it. Even resident aliens ([[Metic|metoeci]]) did not have the right to marry Athenians.

''Epigamia'' was also a way of formalizing the relationship between different nations. Typically, an ''epigamia'' agreement would allow the adoption of the nationality of the country of residence, for the spouse as well as children. For example, Athens granted epigamia to [[Euboea|Euboa]] in the 5th century, a very rare case.

Some cases are known (especially through [[Plutarch]]), in which ''epigamia'' was denied between two villages of [[Attica]], [[Pallene (Attica)|Pallene]] and [[Hagnous]], presumably because alliances would have been akin to endogamy.

In 303 BCE, [[Seleucus I]] led an army to the [[Indus]] in [[India]], where he encountered Chandragupta. The confrontation ended with a peace treaty, and "an intermarriage agreement" (epigamia), meaning either a dynastic marriage or a more general agreement for intermarriage between Indians and Greeks.<ref>The author considers that it seems more probable that ''epigamia'' is, in that case, an intermarriage agreement because of having no sources about a Greek or a Mauryan princess in any of the kingdoms. Mairs, Rachel. "The places in between: Model and Metaphor in the archaeology of Hellenestic Arachosia" in Anna Kouremenos, Sujatha Chandrasekaran and Roberto Rosso (dir.) ''From Pella to Gandhara''. Bar International Series 2221. 2011. pp. 177-189.

According to Paul Bernard, such an agreement could have been made in order to protect Greek settlers and their family because of the change of sovereignty. Bernard, Paul. ''Les Fouilles d'Aï Khanoum IV : Les monnaies hors trésors. Questions d'histoire gréco-macédonienne.'' De Brocart. 1985. pp. 92-93</ref> Accordingly, Seleucus ceded to Chandragupta his northwestern territories [[Arachosia]], [[Gedrosia]], [[Aria]], [[Paropamisadae]] and received 500 war elephants (which played a key role in the victory of Seleucus at the [[Battle of Ipsus]]):
<blockquote>
:The Indians occupy [in part] some of the countries situated along the Indus, which formerly belonged to the Persians: Alexander deprived the Ariani of them, and established there settlements of his own. But [[Seleucus Nicator]] gave them to [[Chandragupta Maurya|Sandrocottus]] (Chandragupta Maurya) in consequence of a marriage contract, and received in return five hundred elephants. — [[Strabo]] 15.2.9 <ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0239&query=head%3D%23120 Strabo 15.2.9]</ref>
</blockquote>
==Notes==
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[[Category:Society of ancient Greece]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek law]]
[[Category:Seleucid Empire]]

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Epigamia - Revision history

Bharatwiki Socrates at 08:14, 24 November 2023