How marriage started?

Marriage is a commitment that has existed for centuries and has looked different throughout history.  It can be interesting to dive into what marriage looked like when it first started.  There is different information out there about the origins of marriage.  While marriages looked different when they started, one common theme is that marriage was only between men and women.  While there is some evidence around sexual relations between members of the same sex, marriage was reserved only for men and women.  Some sexual relations were accepted, and some were not, but same-sex marriage was not accepted.  On that same note, polygamy was actually preferred when marriage first started.  It was very common for men to have several wives and that even the more wives they had, the more status they had. 

The commitment to marriage was seen as a strategic move for a lot of history.  Families would encourage their children to get married to certain families to help form alliances.  It was not uncommon for these alliances to happen even amongst family members.  To use this strategy, it was not uncommon for families to arrange the marriages of their children.  Parents could figure out the best move for their child and their own family in whom they arrange for their child to marry.  Rather than an initial commitment of love and devotion between two people, marriage was more of a strategic commitment rooted in someone’s love for their family.

Throughout history, including in its origins, marriage has promoted the idea of procreating.  Again, children could be a great strategy towards forming helpful alliances with other families. Therefore, it was useful to have more children to have more opportunities for alliances.  The idea of procreating and family ties were also deeply tied to religious beliefs.  Families would want to create ties to other families of the same religion, not a different religion.  On that same note, it was highly frowned upon and even punishable if someone wanted to marry someone without their family’s permission.  This was especially true if someone wanted to marry someone of a different religion.