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What is polygamy?
Medical expert of the article
Last reviewed: 06.07.2025
The term "polygamy" comes from the Greek term πολύς - "numerous" and γάμος - "marriage", which means "many marriages". Thus, polygamy means that a marriage can be concluded with two or more partners. Polygamy is the opposite of monogamy, when a marriage is concluded with only one partner.
Historical facts about polygamy
Polygamy as a very ancient custom was practiced by many peoples in different parts of the world. Polygamy is still practiced in America, Melanesia, Africa. Islam and Buddhism are the religions that approve of polygamous marriages. With one amendment: the husband must be fully responsible for all the wives who are married to him. Polygamy is not a way of life for an entire people in any religion, since then there would need to be twice as many women as men.
Christianity, unlike Islam or Moslemism, does not welcome polygamous marriages, although many Christian saints had both wives and concubines. As for the ancient patriarchs, King Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines. The wives in the harem had a principle of seniority - the customs were such that the eldest wife led the other wives. The same was true for marriages. At the first marriage, they played a lavish wedding, and subsequent marriages did not involve any special celebrations.
Reasons for polygamy
Girls and boys are born in the ratio of 49:51 or 51:49 on average. Historically, due to wars, women outnumbered men over the centuries. The number of men especially decreased in the Ancient and Middle Ages due to constant wars.
If the society is not very civilized, polygamy is used as a reward for the strong. That is, most of the best women go to a small number of men. But these men are alpha males - the strongest, healthiest and most aggressive of the family. If we recall historical facts, then during the Hundred Years' War even Christians were allowed to have more than one wife, because many men were killed, and the continuation of the family was necessary.
About polygamy
The term polygamy often confuses people and they understand the meaning of the term as bigamy, where a person can have two different but separate marriages. But polygamy actually means multiple spouses living in the same home.
Polygamy is present mainly in these three different forms: polygyny, group marriage, polyandry.
Polygamy - when a man can have several wives at the same time. Polyandry - this term is used for the same thing, with the difference that in polygamy a woman can have more than one husband at the same time
Group marriage - is a family with several husbands and wives.
Polygamy has two forms – polyandry and polygyny. Polyandry is exactly the same thing as polygamy, except that it applies to women. So, it means that a woman has more than one husband at the same time.
Polygyny is a form of polygamous marriage, when a man is married to several women at the same time, but these marriages are registered separately.
Representatives of Islam are allowed to marry 4 women at once, that is, polygamy is practiced. But in Russia and Ukraine - no, only monogamous marriage is allowed here.