Family in ancient Rome

Last updated October 12, 2024

The ancient Roman family was a complex social structure, based mainly on the nuclear family, but also included various combinations of other members, such as extended family members, household slaves, and freed slaves. Ancient Romans had different names to describe their concepts of family, such as, "familia" to describe the nuclear family and "domus" which would have included all the inhabitants of the household.^[1] The types of interactions between the different members of the family were dictated by the perceived social roles each member played. An ancient Roman family's structure was constantly changing as a result of the low life expectancy and through marriage, divorce, and adoption.^[2]

Fathers

Ancient Romans placed the father at the head of the family. One definition of the term familia translates to, "the group of people who descend from the same pater," where pater means "father".^[2]^: 17 From this definition, a father and all his children are part of his familia, as are the children of his sons. The children of his daughters, however, would become part of their father's familia.^[2]^: 17 At the head of the entire familia was the pater familias . The pater familias was the oldest living male of the family. If he had living sons, even grown men with their own families, those sons would still be under the power of the pater familias.^[2]^: 17

In Ancient Rome, fathers were endowed with nearly limitless power over their family, especially their children. This patria potestas, or "the father's power" gave him legal rights over his children until he died or his children were emancipated.^[3]^: 36 These powers included the right to arrange marriages or force divorce, expose a new born child if he did not want him/her, and even disown, sell, or kill his child.^[2]^: 17 Even though a father had these legal rights, it did not mean these acts were common. Fathers wanted their children as heirs for the continuation of their bloodlines. Ancient Romans believed the patria potestas was first dictated by Romulus, the founder and first king of Rome.^[4] Legally, if a child did not share the father's citizenship, he or she was not under his patria potestas.^[5]

Mothers

A woman in Ancient Rome was under the social expectation to become a wife and mother. Despite the importance of the mother in the family structure as the bearer of the children, she had no legal control over her children.^[2]^: 20 Examples of mother-child relationships in ancient sources, if discussed at all, focus on describing her as the idealized Roman matrona. A Roman matrona was a strong, virtuous woman dedicated to the political advancement of her family.^[2]^: 20 Marcus Aurelius provides a rare insight into the affectionate relationship between mother and son in a letter describing an afternoon spent with his mother playfully arguing and gossiping.^[6] The lack of literary discussion may have resulted because so many children never knew their mothers, who often died in childbirth. It was also the case that young children often had more contact with their wet nurse or pedagogue than their mother.

Children

Starting a family

.....The nuclear family of father, mother, and children was essential to the Ancient Roman family structure. Although mothers gave birth to many children, the size of a Roman family remained relatively small because of the high infant and child mortality rate. Twenty-five percent of infants died within their first year, while another 25% died before their tenth birthday.^[2]^: 16 Such a high rate meant women had to bear multiple children because many would not make it to adulthood. However, for couples who did not want to become pregnant, there were forms of contraception available to them, as well as abortion.^[2]^: 26–27

Life course

In infancy, a new born was either accepted into the family by his/her father in a ritual called tollere liberum or the child was exposed by the father, often without the consent of the mother.^[3]^: 39 Exposure differed from infanticide and the abandoned child was often taken and raised by someone else. A child was considered an infant until he/she was seven years old. At this time, boys would begin their education and be introduced to public life.^[3]^: 35–36 Girls remained in the household to learn the skills they would need as wives and mothers. Legally, a girl was considered a child until she was twelve years old and a boy until he was fourteen years old. Young girls were often engaged at twelve years old and married at thirteen to a man chosen by her father.^[2]^: 37 Males transitioned to adulthood during the toga virilis ceremony when they received the white toga worn by adults.^[3]^: 67 Childhood ended for women once they were married, but they were still considered childlike because of their weaker dispositions compared to men.^[3]^: 36

Wet nurses and pedagogues

Within the household, infants and children would have interacted with servants and household slaves. During infancy, babies were often nursed and cared for by wet nurses, or nutrix. Nurses were used by families of every social level and were often employed when the mother had died from childbirth, was unable to produce milk, wanted to become pregnant again quickly or was ill.^[1]^: 26^[3]^: 41 A nurse, besides having a moral character, was expected to speak properly because her close interaction with her charge was highly influential to the child's development.^[7]

Pedagogues, or male tutors, were minders for both male and female children.^[3]^: 45 They could be of servile or free status and was responsible for teaching the children proper etiquette and life skills.^[3]^: 45 Pedagogues were also chaperons and tutors. Similarly to wet nurses, pedagogues were employed by families of all social classes.^[1]^: 48

Adoption

Since the mortality rate of children in Ancient Rome was so high, many parents needed to adopt. This was also common if parents were unable to have children. Adoption normally occurred because of the need to have heirs to continue the family name. Most often a nephew or a grandson was adopted if the couple itself did not have a son. This was particularly prominent among the Roman emperors. Julius Caesar, for example, adopted his grandnephew Gaius Octavius (later known as Emperor Augustus) because he had no sons to succeed him. In some instances, masters would free their slave in order to officially adopt him into the family. By doing so, the slave could take on the family name and become an heir.

Elderly

The average life expectancy in Ancient Rome at birth was 27 years old.^[2]^: 16 Early deaths in women were common because of the dangers of childbirth and men often died on the battlefield. Those who lived to an elderly age expected their children to take care of them. In the second century AD, laws were passed stating a son should care for his elderly father; however, there was no compulsory obligation.^[8]^: 132 Children cared for their elderly parents because of their belief in pietas, or a sense duty to their parents and the gods.^[8]^: 132 A mythological example of pietas comes from the story of Aeneas, who carried his elderly father out of the burning city of Troy following the Trojan War.^[3]^: 119

Slaves

The ancient Roman definition of domus consisted of everyone living in the household, which included slaves. Slaves were a constant presence in a Roman family. A significant example were the wet nurses and pedagogues who cared for and raised the children. Upper class Roman families often included space for their slaves in the family burial site and in exchange the slaves ensured their master received proper burial rites when he died.^[5] It was common for slaves to be manumitted, or freed, by their master and become his dependents as freedmen. It was up to the master to free a slave.

Freedpersons

Freedpersons, or liberti, were ex-slaves who were freed.^[2]^: 186 Although free, many liberti continued to work for their previous master. When freed, liberti took on the name of their master, thereby continuing the family name.^[8] By taking their master's name, liberti were considered part of the familia, not just the domus. Like slaves, freedmen and freedwomen, with their families, were provided burial space with the familia.^[8]^: 216

Marriage

The beginnings of a new Roman family began with marriage. Marriage was a means to provide sons to serve Rome.^[2]^: 24 Women were married young, normally to men much older than themselves. These girls in their late teens may have already been married once before.^[2]^: 37 Marriages were arranged by family members, normally the father, especially in the upper classes where marriages created political alliances.^[2]^: 38 Marriage, and even divorce, did not have to be ratified by the state.^[9] A simple agreement between both parties was the only necessity. A marriage, for the upper classes, consisted of a wedding procession, where the woman was carried from her old home to the home of her new husband, accompanied by people singing wedding songs.^[2]^: 94–40 Once married, the wife became a part of her husband's family and gained the title of materfamilias, or "mother of a household".^[9] A wife held the same property rights as a daughter and, therefore, could not receive her husband's property until his death.^[9] Once a wife, a woman would quickly also become a mother. Society taught women that their most valuable contribution to Rome was to give birth to many sons.

Divorce and remarriage

Divorce and remarriage were common in Roman society. Since so many marriages were arranged, the couple did not necessarily expect romance, but did hope to live in harmony, or concordia.^[2]^: 44 If a marriage did not work out, divorce was as easily obtained as the marriage had been because the state did not need to ratify either. However, it was common to consult advice from close family or friends before getting a divorce.^[9] Both the man and the woman could request a divorce.^[9]^: 443 The divorce procedure usually contained a verbal formula, in which the parties confirmed the end of the marriage.^[9]^: 446 A father could force his child to get a divorce through his patria potestas, even if the marriage was happy. Divorce became increasingly common in the upper classes by the end of the Republic and the beginning of the Imperial periods because so many marriages were based on politics.^[2]^: 50 If a man lost favor politically, a wife might divorce him to protect her family's reputation. In a divorce, the woman's family would usually ask the husband to return her dowry.^[2]^: 50 This was possible only if the wife was innocent of any offense. If her husband divorced her because of a transgression like adultery or failure to perform her duties in the home, a wife could not have her dowry returned.^[9]^: 441

Remarriages were a result not only of divorce, but also of the high mortality rate in ancient Rome. A husband could remarry if his wife died in childbirth, a wife could remarry if her husband died at war, and either could remarry if the other died from disease, an accident, or old age.^[1] Divorce and remarriage could greatly alter the family structure by creating blended families. Step parents and step siblings were often added to the family. When a man remarried his children lived in his new household and their mother, if still alive, would rarely see them again.^[1]

Adultery

Both men and women had affairs in ancient Rome. The difference was it was socially acceptable for a husband to have an affair with a slave or a lower-class woman.^[2]^: 51 It was never acceptable for a wife to have an affair with anyone. She was expected to remain faithful to her husband, even if she knew he was having an affair.^[2]^: 54 Although women had affairs, it is hard to determine how common the practice was. The only exception for a man was he was not supposed to have a relationship with another upper class, married woman.^[2]^: 54 However, during the Imperial period, it became more common for men to have affairs with upper-class women. Some literature from ancient Rome even gave advice on the best location to meet a mistress. In Ovid's poem, The Art of Love , he describes meeting women at a public location, like the circus or a horse race, to avoid detection.^[10] Because married couples had separate bedrooms, it was easy for a man to have an affair, but a woman was closely monitored by the household staff, which made having an affair within her own home almost impossible.^[3]^: 31 If a cheating wife was caught by her husband with her lover, her husband had the legal right to kill the adulterer and immediately divorce his wife.^[11]

Kinship terms

The kinship terms in the Latin language follow the Sudanese kinship system. Latin has a word for every role in the system. The terminology used by anthropologists when analyzing kinship in cultures is often derived from Latin (words like amitalocality , patrilineal ).^[12]

Related Research Articles

Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between two people in which the couple does not want to, or cannot, enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar, but mutually exclusive.

The pater familias, also written as paterfamilias, was the head of a Roman family. The pater familias was the oldest living male in a household, and could legally exercise autocratic authority over his extended family. The term is Latin for "father of the family" or the "owner of the family estate". The form is archaic in Latin, preserving the old genitive ending in -ās, whereas in classical Latin the normal first declension genitive singular ending was -ae. The pater familias always had to be a Roman citizen.

Freeborn women in ancient Rome were citizens (cives), but could not vote or hold political office. Because of their limited public role, women are named less frequently than men by Roman historians. But while Roman women held no direct political power, those from wealthy or powerful families could and did exert influence through private negotiations. Exceptional women who left an undeniable mark on history include Lucretia and Claudia Quinta, whose stories took on mythic significance; fierce Republican-era women such as Cornelia, mother of the Gracchi, and Fulvia, who commanded an army and issued coins bearing her image; women of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, most prominently Livia and Agrippina the Younger, who contributed to the formation of Imperial mores; and the empress Helena, a driving force in promoting Christianity.

Adoption in ancient Rome was primarily a legal procedure for transferring paternal power (potestas) to ensure succession in the male line within Roman patriarchal society. The Latin word adoptio refers broadly to "adoption", which was of two kinds: the transferral of potestas over a free person from one head of household to another; and adrogatio, when the adoptee had been acting sui iuris as a legal adult but assumed the status of unemancipated son for purposes of inheritance. Adoptio was a longstanding part of Roman family law pertaining to paternal responsibilities such as perpetuating the value of the family estate and ancestral rites (sacra), which were concerns of the Roman property-owning classes and cultural elite. During the Principate, adoption became a way to ensure imperial succession.

Citizenship in ancient Rome was a privileged political and legal status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance. Citizenship in ancient Rome was complex and based upon many different laws, traditions, and cultural practices. There existed several different types of citizenship, determined by one's gender, class, and political affiliations, and the exact duties or expectations of a citizen varied throughout the history of the Roman Empire.

The legal rights of women refers to the social and human rights of women. One of the first women's rights declarations was the Declaration of Sentiments. The dependent position of women in early law is proved by the evidence of most ancient systems.

In ancient Rome, confarreatio was a traditional patrician form of marriage. The ceremony involved the bride and bridegroom sharing a cake of emmer, in Latin far or panis farreus, hence the rite's name. The Flamen Dialis and pontifex maximus presided over the wedding, and ten witnesses had to be present. The woman passed directly from the hand (manus) of her father or head of household to that of her new husband.

In Roman law, status describes a person's legal status. The individual could be a Roman citizen, unlike foreigners; or he could be free, unlike slaves; or he could have a certain position in a Roman family either as head of the family, or as a lower member.

Marriage in ancient Rome was a fundamental institution of society and was used by Romans primarily as a tool for interfamilial alliances. The institution of Roman marriage was a practice of marital monogamy: Roman citizens could have only one spouse at a time in marriage but were allowed to divorce and remarry. This form of prescriptively monogamous marriage that co-existed with male resource polygyny in Greco-Roman civilization may have arisen from the relative egalitarianism of democratic and republican city-states. Early Christianity embraced this ideal of monogamous marriage by adding its own teaching of sexual monogamy, and perpetrated it worldwide and became as an essential element in many later Western cultures.

Social class in ancient Rome was hierarchical, with multiple and overlapping social hierarchies. An individual's relative position in one might be higher or lower than in another, which complicated the social composition of Rome.

Slavery in ancient Rome played an important role in society and the economy. Unskilled or low-skill slaves labored in the fields, mines, and mills with few opportunities for advancement and little chance of freedom. Skilled and educated slaves—including artisans, chefs, domestic staff and personal attendants, entertainers, business managers, accountants and bankers, educators at all levels, secretaries and librarians, civil servants, and physicians—occupied a more privileged tier of servitude and could hope to obtain freedom through one of several well-defined paths with protections under the law. The possibility of manumission and subsequent citizenship was a distinguishing feature of Rome's system of slavery, resulting in a significant and influential number of freedpersons in Roman society.

<i>Manus</i> marriage Type of marriage in ancient Rome

Manus was an Ancient Roman type of marriage, of which there were two forms: cum manu and sine manu. In a cum manu marriage, the wife was placed under the legal control of the husband. In a sine manu marriage, the wife remained under the legal control of her father.

Education in ancient Rome progressed from an informal, familial system of education in the early Republic to a tuition-based system during the late Republic and the Empire. The Roman education system was based on the Greek system – and many of the private tutors in the Roman system were enslaved Greeks or freedmen. The educational methodology and curriculum used in Rome was copied in its provinces and provided a basis for education systems throughout later Western civilization. Organized education remained relatively rare, and there are few primary sources or accounts of the Roman educational process until the 2nd century AD. Due to the extensive power wielded by the pater familias over Roman families, the level and quality of education provided to Roman children varied drastically from family to family; nevertheless, Roman popular morality came eventually to expect fathers to have their children educated to some extent, and a complete advanced education was expected of any Roman who wished to enter politics.

Wife selling is the practice of a husband selling his wife and may include the sale of a female by a party outside a marriage. Wife selling has had numerous purposes throughout the practice's history; and the term "wife sale" is not defined in all sources relating to the topic.

The New Testament Household Codes, also known as New Testament Domestic Codes, consist of instructions in New Testament writings associated with the apostles Paul and Peter to pairs of Christian people within the structure of a typical Roman household. The main foci of the Household Codes are upon husband/wife, parent (father)/child, and master/slave relationships. Some argue that The Codes were developed to urge the new first century Christians to comply with the non-negotiable requirements of Roman Patria Potestas law, and to meet the needs for order within the fledgling churches. The two main texts that address these relationships and duties are Ephesians 5:22–6:9 and Colossians 3:18–4:1. An underlying Household Code is also reflected in 1 Timothy 2:1ff., 8ff.; 3:1ff., 8ff.; 5:17ff.; 6:1f.; Titus 2:1–10 and 1 Peter 2:13–3:7. Historically, proof texts from the New Testament Household Codes—from the first century to the present day—have been used to define a married Christian woman's role in relation to her husband, and to disqualify women from primary ministry positions in Christian churches.

In civil law jurisdictions, marital power was a doctrine in terms of which a wife was legally an incapax under the usufructory tutorship of her husband. The marital power included the power of the husband to administer both his wife's separate property and their community property. A wife was not able to leave a will, enter into a contract, or sue or be sued, in her own name or without the permission of her husband. It is very similar to the doctrine of coverture in the English common law, as well as to the Head and Master law property laws.

Childbirth in ancient Rome was dangerous for both the mother and the child. Mothers usually would rely on religious superstition to avoid death. Certain customs such as lying in bed after childbirth and using plants and herbs as relief were also practiced. Midwives assisted the mothers in birth. Once children were born they wouldn’t be given a name until 8 or 9 days after their birth. The number depended on if they were male or female. Once the days had passed, the child would be given a name and a bulla during a ceremony. When a child reached the age of 1, they would gain legal privileges which could lead to citizenship. Children 7 and under were considered infants, and were under the care of women. From a age 8 until they reached adulthood children were expected to help with housework. The age of adulthood was 12 for girls, or 14 for boys. Children would often have a variety of toys to play with. If a child died they could be buried or cremated. Some would be commemorated in Roman religious tradition.

Marriage in ancient Greece had less of a basis in personal relationships and more in social responsibility, however the available historical records on the subject focus exclusively on Athens or Sparta and primarily on the aristocratic class. According to these records, the goal and focus of all marriages was intended to be reproduction, making marriage an issue of public interest. Marriages were usually arranged by the parents; on occasion professional matchmakers were used. Each city was politically independent and each had its own laws concerning marriage. For the marriage to be legal, the woman's father or guardian gave permission to a suitable man who could afford to marry. Daughters were usually married to uncles or cousins. Wintertime marriages were popular due to the significance of that time to Hera, the goddess of marriage. The couple participated in a ceremony which included rituals such as veil removal, but it was the couple living together that made the marriage legal. Marriage was understood to be the official transition from childhood into adulthood for women.

In ancient Rome, contubernium was a quasi-marital relationship between two slaves or between a slave (servus) and a free person who was usually a former slave or the child of a former slave. A slave involved in such a relationship was called contubernalis, the basic and general meaning of which was "companion".

Concubinatus was a monogamous union, intended to be of some duration but not necessarily permanent, that was socially and to some extent legally recognized as an alternative to marriage in the Roman Empire. Concubinage became a legal concern in response to Augustan moral legislation that criminalized adultery and imposed penalties on some consensual sexual behaviors outside marriage.

References

1 2 3 4 5 Bradley, Keith R. Discovering the Roman Family: Studies in Roman Social History. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Shelton, Jo-Ann. As the Romans Did: A Sourcebook in Roman Social History. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Harlow, Mary, and Ray Laurence. Growing Up and Growing Old in Ancient Rome: A Life Course Approach. London: Routledge, 2002.
↑ Fontes Iuris Romani Antejustiniani (2nd ed.,Florence,1940-1943)
1 2 Dixon, Suzanne. The Roman Family. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992. Accessed October 20, 2015. ACLS Humanities eBook.
↑ Marcus Aurelius,Fronto's Letters, 4.6
↑ Quintilian, The Elements of Oratory, 1.1.4-5
1 2 3 4 Rawson, Beryl, and Paul Weaver, eds. The Roman Family in Italy: Status, Sentiment, Space. Oxford: Clarendon, 1999.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Treggiari, Susan. Roman Marriage. Oxford: Clarendon Press,1991.
↑ Ovid,The Art of Love, 1.135-163
↑ Acta Divi Augusti(Rome, 1945),/
↑ Schwimmer, Brian (August 2003). "Latin Kin Terms". www.umanitoba.ca. University of Manitoba. Retrieved 3 April 2020.

External links

Bruun, Christer; Edmondson, Jonathan, eds. (January 2015) [2014 (print)]. "Appendix IV Roman Kinship Terms". The Oxford Handbook of Roman Epigraphy. Oxford. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195336467.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-533646-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[Bradley1991-1] 1 2 3 4 5 Bradley, Keith R. Discovering the Roman Family: Studies in Roman Social History. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991.

[Shelton1998-2] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Shelton, Jo-Ann. As the Romans Did: A Sourcebook in Roman Social History. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.

[Harlow2002-3] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Harlow, Mary, and Ray Laurence. Growing Up and Growing Old in Ancient Rome: A Life Course Approach. London: Routledge, 2002.

[4] Fontes Iuris Romani Antejustiniani (2nd ed.,Florence,1940-1943)

[Dixon1992-5] 1 2 Dixon, Suzanne. The Roman Family. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992. Accessed October 20, 2015. ACLS Humanities eBook.

[6] Marcus Aurelius,Fronto's Letters, 4.6

[7] Quintilian, The Elements of Oratory, 1.1.4-5

[Rawson1999-8] 1 2 3 4 Rawson, Beryl, and Paul Weaver, eds. The Roman Family in Italy: Status, Sentiment, Space. Oxford: Clarendon, 1999.

[Treggiari1991-9] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Treggiari, Susan. Roman Marriage. Oxford: Clarendon Press,1991.

[10] Ovid,The Art of Love, 1.135-163

[11] Acta Divi Augusti(Rome, 1945),/

[Schwimmer-12] Schwimmer, Brian (August 2003). "Latin Kin Terms". www.umanitoba.ca. University of Manitoba. Retrieved 3 April 2020.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]