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Explores the nature of the Greek household "oikos" in classical Athens. Whereas the "oikos" traditionally has been defined as the household of the nuclear family in Greece, this text argues that it had a more fluid structure, taking care to distinguish between the concepts of "household" and "family". The legal basis of the typical elite household emerges in the description of marriage patterns or strategies among the families represented in Attic orations and funeral inscriptions. Property interests were a strong motivating force, with the elite marrying within their kin, primariliy thorugh paternal lines in which property was transferred. The author argues that the household was not limited to "family" or kinspeople. Friends, neighbours, concubines or prostitutes, and slaves also shared in property interests and all could have a profound influence on the household.