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Show Bridal Veils Used in Ancient Times to Scare Demons Greeks of Old Followed Quaint Marriage Rites THE ancient custom of veiling veil-ing a bride was once a trick to mislead mischievous demons Thus Prof. Ludwig Deubnet of the Berlin university explains ex-plains bridal veils, which in ancient an-cient times were more enveloping envelop-ing and mysterious than the airy veil of a modern June bride. Fear of demons, it appears, plagued the ancient Greeks in a fashion reminiscent of the fairy-tale fear of the wicked fairy who always al-ways turned up for trouble at weddings wed-dings and christenings. Brides' Disguises. Describing lengths to which wedding wed-ding parties would go to foil demons, de-mons, Prof. Deubner said that brides in Sparta were dressed in men's clothing. The Spartan maid, dressed like a man and with her hair shorn, was shut up in a dark room to await her bridegroom's arrival and a dramatic rescue. Other ancient peoples tried other confusing practices. On the island of Kos, near Asia Minor, it was the bridegroom who dressed up. He wore women's clothes. Prof. Deubner finds evidence that Greek marriage customs are related relat-ed to customs of other Indo-Ger-manic peoples, and some can still be found surviving in parts of Greece. Parents Made Matches. Describing ancient Greek weddings, wed-dings, Prof. Deubner stated that as marriages were arranged by the parents, the couple-to-be were not consulted and often became acquainted ac-quainted only after they were wed. The popular month for weddings corresponded to late January and early February in our calendar. The bride sacrificed her hair, her girdle, and her toys at the altar of Artemis. Corresponding to a modern church wedding was a sacrifice rite to the goddess Hera. During the wedding banquet the bridegroom removed the bride's veil. Wedding gifts went by a name meaning unveiling, un-veiling, because they were received after the removal .of the veil. Guests accompanied the couple to their home and threw old shoes to ward off evil. The groom lifted his bride from the cart in which they rode, and she like ancient German brides walked thrice around the hearth-fire in token of her entrance to a new family. |
