The Significance of Children in Ancient Greece: An Archaeological Analysis

For decades, children in ancient Greece have been written off by scholars as socially insignificant. These scholars have based their arguments on mortality statistics, ancient practices of infant exposure, and evidence of unceremonious child burials. Challengers of this perspective have pointed to evidence of religious and magical efforts to protect children, the important roles children filled in religious and political life, and the pathos symbolized by children in art and literature. An archaeological analysis of this debate consisted of careful examination of burial evidence of children from numerous ancient Greek sites around the Mediterranean, stretching from the Late Bronze Age to the early Roman period. Examination of burial locations, burial methods, and grave goods of children as compared to those of adults has provided important insight into the issue of child significance in ancient Greece. Firstly, the vast amount of temporal and spatial variation has illustrated the futility of making generalizations about Greek child burial practices. Secondly, the utter lack of evidence to support the argument that children lacked significance in ancient Greek society is extremely clear. The combination of the historical context with the archaeological data shows that it is much more likely that children were significant, cared for, and mourned in ancient Greece than not.No embargoAcademic Major: Ancient History and Classic