Is this what you meant by traditional marriage?

Sara Boboltz in Huffington Post reviews some major ideas in the history of marriage to show that today's much touted "traditional marriage" is nonsense.

In Ancient Greece marriage was to determine which heirs were legitimate. The ideal union was homosexual.

In many indigenous societies multiple wives were important simply because of the sheer amount of work that needed to be done.

In Ancient China the son had better side with his father even if it was against his wife. Family members married off deceased relations in ghost marriages so the dead would not be lonely.

In Egypt after the time of Alexander co-wives saw each other as a threat to the power of their own children.

Men in Ancient Rome were family managers. If he needed to form an alliance he would divorce a wife so his new friend could marry her.

In early Christianity sex was believed to interfere with spiritual salvation so celibacy was preferred. But if you must have sex, do it in a marriage.

In Medieval Europe marriage for the rich was a way for families to merge assets and create international support networks. For the poor marriage was a way to combine your small strip of land with your neighbor's. If the father's approved, the best match was the girl next door.

In 1563 the Catholic Church made marriage a religious sacrament. Just don't love your wife too much. This sacrament meant the church had a say in getting out of a marriage.

In the Enlightenment the idea of love in marriage finally gained ground and there was talk of companionship and cooperation. But not too much -- don't give women the idea they can undermine a man's authority.

Queen Victoria's wedding shifted the view of women from lusty to innocent. Men found it less stressful to visit prostitutes.

Marriage in the early 20th Century began emphasizing satisfying sex lives within marriage. Critics predicted the end of marriage in 50 years.

The 1950s (at least in America) emphasized the nuclear family and these held together pretty well. But there was a long list of kinds of people a white person couldn't marry.

Since then marriage has become to be seen as a human right, a partnership of the couple's own choice between equals. And that began to include same-sex couples.