Ancient Rome

Welcome to ancient Rome. Originally just a simple city-state, it was formed into a republic in 509BCE. The king was replaced with two consuls who ruled together. Renamed in 27 BCE by Augustus, adopted son of the great Julius Caesar. Augustus transformed the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire and formed it into an autocratic government, in other words, he was the only boss. Although he never actually assumed the title of Emperor, we have named him Rome’s first Emperor. The Roman people were separated into two classes, the rich and the poor. That wasn’t the only way they were separated, they were also separated by gender and generation. Like most ancient societies and some modern ones, men ruled the world.

How powerful exactly was being a male in ancient Rome? Well, one of the many powers men held over their own family was the power of life and death. When a child is born the midwife would place the child on the ground. After that, it is the male head of the family, the paterfamilias, job to pick up the child. If the paterfamilias is willing to accept the child into his family then he will pick up the child. Should the paterfamilias not pick up the child then the child is left at a specific place outside. It was assumed that slaves took the unwanted babies. Children could be unwanted for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to deformities or financial struggles. It was the paterfamilias’ job to decide whether or not the family could support, or want, the new child.

The paterfamilias was generally the eldest living male. He held the job of looking after the families business affairs and property as well as occasionally performing religious rites. The paterfamilias held all the power, whether it be politics, society or the family. He held absolute power over his own household and children. Should one of his children anger him, he had the power to disown them, sell them into slavery, or simply kill them. Only the head of the family, the paterfamilias, could own property. This means that even if their sons are grown they couldn’t own their own property. Instead, they received a stipend that allowed them to manage their own households. When men are young they are important because they are who carry on the family name. Without a male heir to carry on the family name, what was the point of creating anything? Your name is what sets you in history and without an heir, your name just disappears with your death. An heir means your name keeps existing. The male's role was pretty simple; rule the family, be in charge, and create heirs.

Women had a much different role than men. While men were in charge of the people in the household and family, the women were in charge of the actual running of the household and family. They were in charge of the work on handicrafts as well as the slaves, occasionally those in the upper class could study literature and philosophy. Women were generally married off before puberty or shortly after. This was so men could be confident in the fact that they didn’t have any sexual history. The reason for the concern about sexual history is because women had the responsibility to bear legitimate children, to carry on the family name.

Womens submissive role to men was reflected in how women were named. The name women had was based on the family name, it was simply the feminine version of whatever the family name was. Once they married they could keep their maiden name or change it to their husband's family name. Although, women could have legal and financial interests they were forced to have a male family member be in charge of them. “This rule was designed to keep property, especially inherited property, in the male-controlled family, even if male and female offspring had equal inheritance rights under Roman law.” (Cartwright, 2018). This was true unless a woman achieved total freedom. This could happen when a woman had three children, a slave had four children or they became a Vestal Virgin. It was the belief back then that woman were not capable of controlling their own finances, businesses or estates.

Women from wealthier families did not have much of a public life. They could not attend speak in or vote at a political assembly. They also could not hold political responsibility. Those in the lower class did not have any public life. Women in the lower class were focused on making money; through jobs in agriculture, markets, crafts, or as midwives and wet-nurses. Women had a lot of roles but they were mostly background roles of running a household while their male partners got all the credit.

Children did not have many roles in society other than being an heir. The main purpose of having children was to have a male heir to pass on the family name. With female children, they could be used to marry off and create alliances with other families. Citizenship in ancient Rome was not a birthright. If the paterfamilias did not accept the child into their family then that child was not considered a citizen of Rome. There was also a tradition of waiting nine days to name a baby. This was so all the evil spirits would be gone. “Around 25 percent of babies in the first century AD did not survive their first year and up to half of all children would die before the age of 10.” (PBS, 2018). There was also another tradition of giving male children charms to protect them until they came of age. This would be at the age of 14 where they would then be taken to the forum and registered as a citizen.

In ancient Rome, males held publicly important roles. They were in charge of politics and were seen as in charge of the household and family. Women, on the other hand, held all the behind the scene jobs. It was their job to create legitimate heirs. They had to make sure the household was running, they made sure their male counterpart looked good. Children held the simplest role, exist. They had to exist in order to carry on the family name or improve the family. Men, women, and children each held different roles but all of them were important to the survival of the family and of Rome.

REFERENCES

Cartwright, M. (2018, November 13). The Role of Women in the Roman World. Retrieved from https://www.ancient.eu/article/659/the-role-of-women-in-the-roman-world/

PBS. (n.d.). The Roman Empire. Retrieved from https://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/empire/family.html