Taking as a wife an "epikleros" who had little estate was considered a praiseworthy action, and was generally stressed in public speeches. Such an heiress was called an "epikleros thessa". If the nearest male relative did not wish to marry an "epikleros" who belonged to the lowest income class in Athens, he was required to find her a husband and provide her with a dowry on a graduated scale according to his own income class. This dowry was in addition to her own property and the requirement was designed to ensure that even poor heiresses found husbands. The law also did not stipulate what was to happen if the "epikleros" was still an infant or too young for consummation of the marriage when she was claimed.