When the wife is complaining

The tradition of marriage through Greek textbooks of ancient, medieval and modern history (academic period 2017-2018)

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to explore the nature of the tradition of marriage, through the ages, as presented by the History Textbooks of the Greek Secondary Obligatory Education in the academic period 2017-2018. Occasion for this research was the recent data of the Greek Statistical Office (ELSTAT) and the corresponding European one (EUROSTAT), which have formed the schema (outline): increase in the number of divorces and also decrease in the number of marriages through the last thirty years in the Greek state. According to the results of the research, the mentions – direct or hidden – to the marriage institution are very rare. It is indicated that, through them, the 13th and 14th years old students tend to realize that marriage is a very difficult situation, which contains only duties and hard work. In addition, very little in the textbooks is declared related to the significance of this tradition for people’s emotional security and safety. Or, at least, the need for companionship, as a vital condition for the development of the human kind! In conclusion, the information the students are getting through surveyed history textbooks, do not seem sufficient – quantitatively and qualitatively - to promote the tradition of marriage, since the picture, which is being shaped, does not seem to be a positive one.