On a blustery winter day, several men are standing naked in the middle of a square. Several citizens were surrounding them. I thought it was a reckless challenge by young people, but it didn’t seem like they were willing to do it. The citizens around him also clearly showed sympathy. Of course, there were some who made sad expressions.
A man who appears to be a high-ranking official appears. They point to naked men and shout to the citizens. “These people are dirty single people, which means they cannot produce soldiers to defend their country.”
That’s right. These naked men are being punished. While practicing ‘I live alone’, I was being publicly insulted by the government. In the ancient Greek city-state of Sparta, unmarried people were treated close to traitors.
The history of single people is a record of contempt and discrimination. Today in Korea it is respected as a lifestyle, but in the past this was not the case. We contemplate the long history of suffering. This is to mourn the terrible suffering suffered by unmarried people during the holidays. (Singles of the world, unite!)
“This is Sparta”… a leading country in discrimination against single peopleAncient Greece is seen as a country of freedom and democracy, but to unmarried people, it was no different from a terrible dictatorship. This was especially true in Sparta. It is part of a law established by Lycurgus, a legislator in the 9th century BC.
“In winter, magistrates must humiliate single people by making them walk around the square naked. We need to make them sing the song, ‘They are worthy of punishment.’ Even children can insult them.”
Regardless of social status, single people were treated with contempt. Dersilidas, a Spartan commander in the 5th century BC, was no exception. It was one day when he went to the theater. A young man sitting at the head of the table. When Der Silidas demands to give up his seat, the young man retorts:
“You don’t have any children who can give up their seats to me next time, right?” Even if he was a great commander, if he had no children, he would be publicly scolded. Spartans of somewhat lower status were publicly beaten by women. There was even a term for the act of punishing celibacy ( Agamiou Graphe ).
Single people in Athens cannot have a public voiceSparta’s extreme situation was not unique. Although it was to a lesser extent, discrimination against single people was the same in Athens, the cradle of democracy. Plato’s writings record discrimination against single people.
The banquet states, “Marriage is a legal obligation.” They argue that born homosexuals should also get married. In a work called ‘The Laws’, it is said that citizens who do not marry by the age of 35 must pay a fine. (Perhaps even Plato himself forgot that he did not get married?) This is not just a literary work. In fact, in Athens, Greece, single people were not allowed to have a voice in public affairs.
Nevertheless, in Athens, where freedom was alive and breathing, voices praising singleness often rang out. Since the beginning of the flowering of the Iron Age, many wise men have appeared who are vehemently opposed to marriage. Representative examples include Democritus, Epicurus, and Zeno. Diogenes, who
was said to have married his right hand, was one of these. The misogynistic culture of ancient Greece also served as fuel for the praise of celibacy. Although there was social discrimination against single people, there was also a philosophical movement to praise single people.
A single person’s tax is imposed… and they are prevented from inheriting…스포츠토토Ancient Rome was a country that formalized discrimination against single people through law. Augustus, the first emperor of the Roman Empire, taxed single people 1% of their income. It also stipulates that if you are single and over the age of 50, you cannot inherit or inherit property. It was so heinous that any will in which a single person was the beneficiary would be invalidated. Their share of property was reverted to the state.
It was the ‘Papia Poppaea Law’ ( Lex Papia Poppaea ) enacted in 9 AD. Plutarch sarcastically said, “Romans marry and have children to receive inheritance.”
Even in ancient Rome, ‘avoidance of marriage’ was a social problem. As Rome grew into an empire, traveling to colonies became a trend among men. It wasn’t like traveling by plane in half a day like it is now, so it wasn’t uncommon for years to pass by on a single trip. Also, as a soldier, I often traveled around various countries to fulfill my married life.
As singleness spreads like a trend, even theories of imperial crisis arise. This is why Emperor Augustus allowed marriage between people of different social statuses and discriminated against single people.
Julius Caesar, a leader before Augustus, encouraged marriage with a ‘carrot’. When he distributed colonial land to citizens, he gave priority to married people. It’s as if our country gives priority to pre-sale rights to families giving birth.
