The tollere liberum (from tollere, to raise; liberus, child) was an ancient Roman tradition in which a man picked up a newly born infant from the ground and lifted them in the air to display his acceptance of them as part of his household. It was commonly the father, or in some cases the chief of the house, who performed the task. In some variations of the tradition the man would carry them around a portion of earth (similar to the Greek amphidromia ). [1] [2]
By the 2nd century AD the practice was out of fashion and almost forgotten about, but a seemingly similar practice called suscipere liberum appears in legal documents. [3] It was also sometimes simply called suscipio. [4]
The tollere liberum had no legal importance and did not imply that the father legally accepted paternity or confirmed legitimacy of the child. It was largely regarded as a symbolic gesture and its omission (if for example the father was not at home) did not affect the child's position in the family in any way. [5] The legal initiation of a child into the familia occurred on the dies lustricus when they were given their personal name. [6] In the past it was thought by historians that the event did have a bearing and meant that the man acknowledged paternity of the baby, but this has been rejected in the 20th century. [7] It was believed that if the father did not perform the act that it was an implication that the infant should be exposed. [8]
In modern popular culture, scenes have been shown in which Roman dictator Julius Caesar picks up his son Caesarion and shows him to onlookers. Examples are in the 1963 film Cleopatra in which it is anachronistically stated that it is law that a man declares paternity if he picks up a child from the ground; the 1999 miniseries Cleopatra where Cleopatra VII places the child in front of him and demands that he accept the boy in front of the Roman imperial court; and the HBO television series Rome where Caesar proudly displays the boy for his legionaries.
Marcus Antonius, commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the autocratic Roman Empire.
Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler. A member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, she was a descendant of its founder Ptolemy I Soter, a Macedonian Greek general and companion of Alexander the Great. After the death of Cleopatra, Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire, marking the end of the last Hellenistic state in the Mediterranean and of the age that had lasted since the reign of Alexander. Although her first language was Koine Greek, she was the only Ptolemaic ruler to learn and use the Egyptian language.
Ptolemy XV Caesar, nicknamed Caesarion, was the last pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt, reigning with his mother Cleopatra from 2 September 44 BC until her death by 12 August 30 BC, then as sole ruler until his death was ordered by Octavian.
Publius Cornelius Dolabella was a Roman politician and general under the dictator Julius Caesar. He was by far the most important of the patrician Cornelii Dolabellae but he arranged for himself to be adopted into the plebeian Cornelii Lentuli so that he could become a plebeian tribune. He married Cicero's daughter, Tullia, although he frequently engaged in extramarital affairs. Throughout his life he was an extreme profligate, something that Plutarch wrote reflected ill upon his patron Julius Caesar.
Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysus was a king of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt who ruled from 80 to 58 BC and then again from 55 BC until his death in 51 BC. He was commonly known as Auletes, referring to his love of playing the flute in Dionysian festivals. A member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, he was a descendant of its founder Ptolemy I Soter, a Macedonian Greek general and companion of Alexander the Great.
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.
Arsinoë IV was the fourth of six children and the youngest daughter of Ptolemy XII Auletes. Queen and co-ruler of Ptolemaic Egypt with her brother Ptolemy XIII from 48 BC – 47 BC, she was one of the last members of the Ptolemaic dynasty of ancient Egypt. Arsinoë IV was also the half sister of Cleopatra VII. For her role in conducting the siege of Alexandria against her sister Cleopatra, Arsinoë was taken as a prisoner of war to Rome by the Roman triumvir Julius Caesar following the defeat of Ptolemy XIII in the Battle of the Nile. Arsinoë was then exiled to the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus in Roman Anatolia, but she was executed there by orders of triumvir Mark Antony in 41 BC at the behest of his lover Cleopatra VII.
Marcus Antonius Antyllus was a son of the Roman Triumvir Marc Antony. He was also called Antyllus, a nickname given to him by his father meaning "the Archer". Despite his three children by Cleopatra, Marc Antony designated Antyllus as his official heir, a requirement under Roman law and a designation that probably contributed to his execution at age 17 by Octavian.
Julia the Elder, known to her contemporaries as Julia Caesaris filia or Julia Augusti filia, was the daughter and only biological child of Augustus, the first Roman Emperor, and his second wife, Scribonia. Julia was also stepsister and second wife of the Emperor Tiberius; maternal grandmother of the Emperor Caligula and the Empress Agrippina the Younger; grandmother-in-law of the Emperor Claudius; and maternal great-grandmother of the Emperor Nero. Her epithet "the Elder" distinguishes her from her daughter, Julia the Younger.
Octavia the Younger was the elder sister of the first Roman Emperor, Augustus, the half-sister of Octavia the Elder, and the fourth wife of Mark Antony. She was also the great-grandmother of the Emperor Caligula and Empress Agrippina the Younger, maternal grandmother of the Emperor Claudius, and paternal great-grandmother and maternal great-great-grandmother of the Emperor Nero.
Junia Claudilla, also known as Junia Claudia, was the first wife of the Roman Emperor Caligula before he came to power.
The Ptolemaic Kingdom or Ptolemaic Empire was an Ancient Greek state based in Egypt during the Hellenistic period. It was founded in 305 BC by Ptolemy I Soter, a companion of Alexander the Great, and ruled by the Ptolemaic dynasty until the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC. Ruling for nearly three centuries, the Ptolemies were the longest reigning and final dynasty of ancient Egypt.
Birth certificates for Roman citizens were introduced during the reign of Augustus. Until the time of Alexander Severus, it was required that these documents be written in Latin as a marker of "Romanness" (Romanitas).
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 would not 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 past, the child would be gifted a name and a bulla during a ceremony. Once 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. Children were expected to help with housework from age 8 until they reached adulthood at age 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.
The Ancient Roman family was a complex social structure based mainly on the nuclear family, but could also include various combinations of other members, such as extended family members, household slaves, and freed slaves. Ancient Romans had different names to describe their concept of family, including "familia" to describe the nuclear family and "domus" which would have included all the inhabitants of the household. 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.
Servilia was an ancient Roman woman who was the wife of Marcus Aemilius Lepidus Minor, the son of the triumvir and Pontifex maximus Lepidus. She may also have been the same Servilia who was at one time engaged to Octavian.
In ancient Rome the dies lustricus was a traditional naming ceremony in which an infant was purified and given a praenomen. This occurred on the eighth day for girls and the ninth day for boys, a difference Plutarch explains by noting that "it is a fact that the female grows up, and attains maturity and perfection before the male." Until the umbilical cord fell off, typically on the seventh day, the baby was regarded as "more like a plant than an animal," as Plutarch expresses it. The ceremony of the dies lustricus was thus postponed until the last tangible connection to the mother's body was dissolved and the child was seen "as no longer forming part of the mother, and in this way as possessing an independent existence which justified its receiving a name of its own and therefore a fate of its own." The day was celebrated with a family feast. The childhood goddess Nundina presided over the event, and the goddess Nona was supposed to determine a person's lifespan. Prior to the ceremony infants were not considered part of the household, even if their father had raised them up during a tollere liberum.
In classical Islamic law, a concubine was a slave-woman with whom her master engaged in sexual relations. Concubinage was widely accepted by Muslim scholars in pre-modern times. Most modern Muslims, both scholars and laypersons, believe that Islam no longer accepts concubinage and that sexual relations are religiously permissible only within marriage.