Incest
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This article is about the variable social/legal/religious/cultural infraction of sexual relations with close kin. For the biological act of reproducing with close kin, see inbreeding. For the descriptive term for blood-related kin, see consanguinity. Contents [hide] * 1 Terminology * 2 History * 2.1 Antiquity * 2.2 Middle Ages * 3 Prevalence and statistics * 4 Types * 4.1 Between adults and children * 4.2 Between childhood siblings * 4.3 Between consenting adults * 4.3.1 Between adult siblings * 4.3.2 Cousin relationships * 4.3.3 Incest defined through marriage * 5 Inbreeding * 6 Animals * 7 In popular culture * 8 Laws * 9 Religious views * 9.1 Jewish * 9.2 Christian * 9.3 Islamic * 9.4 Hindu * 9.5 Buddhist * 10 See also * 11 References * 12 External links |
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[edit]Terminology
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[edit]History
Table of prohibited marriages from The Trial of Bastardie by William Clerke. London, 1594
[edit]Antiquity
In ancient China, first cousins with the same surnames (i.e., those born to the father 's brothers) were not permitted to marry, while those with different surnames (i.e., maternal cousins and paternal cousins born to the father 's sisters) were.[19]
According to the Biblical Book of Genesis, the Patriarch Abraham and his wife, Sarah were half-siblings, both being children of Terah (Ge 20:12).
The fable of Oedipus, with a theme of inadvertent incest between a mother and son, ends in disaster and shows ancient taboos against incest as Oedipus is punished for incestuous actions by blinding himself. In the "sequel" to Oedipus, Antigone, his four children are also punished for their parents having been incestuous.
Incest appears in the commonly accepted version of the
References: | This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2009) | [edit]Dual exogamy