The ways that we have viewed love over time has changed yet remained the same in some

ways. During the time of the Ancient Greeks and Romans their society had some similarities to ours today, but many differences as well. The way that they viewed love and the way they expressed love is different depending on the social class that they were in and the time period. In modern culture we have a much romanticized view of love and in many ways it can be more liberal than what was in the past. No matter the time period we have known that there are special connections between individuals that are in our lives that have a place in our hearts. Love for your family, friends, country and significant other are all types of loves that we feel emotionally. This in itself has been around for as long as humans have. There are differences though in the ways that we have been allowed to experience and act on love based on the societal conventions and culture at the time. The difference between modern culture, the Ancient Greeks and the Ancient Romans is in the way that this love has been viewed and expressed. In Ancient Greece women were married at a young age to a much older man. According to Wilson (2009) Upper-class Athenian men usually got married at around 30, often to a much younger girl. This does still happen in modern life, but this is more because the woman finds the man to be attractive to her in some way based on money, social standing, personality or other reason. In Ancient Greece women we still viewed as subservient to men and were not given the same choices as modern women are when it comes to their own lives and finding love for themselves. In Ancient Rome this theme remains in place where women are unable to make their own decisions about their lives, especially those that are in the upper echelon of Roman society.

Another difference in the way that we view love is that in a Roman marriage if a woman was viewed as barren she could be put aside so that the man could find a new wife to get an heir upon. The emperor Augustus imposed penalties on those who remained celibate or unmarried, and a woman's infertility was secure grounds for divorce, despite the common allowance of men to sleep with other women (uktv.com.eu). Many couples in modern society would not get a divorce based on the lack of children although if one member of a couple wants to have a child and the other does not this can still cause a problem. This all contrasts to the modern age as women are no longer subrogated to men in most modern societies. This is still changing as the world changes, but women are free to make the same choices as men when it comes to life and love. Women are no longer required to get married at a young age to only be there to run the household and produce children. Most modern women are also able to make the decision on who they want to marry based on their love unlike their ancestors in Ancient Greece and Rome. The morals of a society also have an impact on love. The penalties that would have been faced for adultery or premarital sex have changed over time as well. Sex outside of marriage in any form is still frowned upon by most segments of the population, but no longer are women stoned to death in most modern societies. The way that we view many taboo love practices has changed as well, such as same sex couples. Unlike what many may believe the Ancient Greeks and Romans were not having orgies all the time. However, same sex relationships did happen in the past along with incestuous marriages between siblings, and other actions that modern societies do frown upon today as can be seen from the same sex marriage struggles.

Love is a topic that is eternal and no matter the age we have strived to understand these emotions that we feel and how we should act on them. The way that love has been viewed and expressed has changed over time from the Ancient Greeks and Romans to our modern culture. Each culture has had its own impacts on the theme of love throughout history in regards to how we have managed our lives and marriages.

References Wilson, E. (2009, September 22). Ancient Greek lessons about gay marriage. Retrieved from http://www.slate.com/id/2221779/ uktv.com.eu. (n.d.). Love and sex in Ancient Rome. Retrieved from http://uktv.co.uk/yesterday/stepbystep/aid/588663