How Did Augustus Protect The Roman Family

In Roman comedy, like in Greek comedy that came before it, Roman writers enjoyed to poke fun at social norms. Augustus sought to protect the Roman Empire’s longevity and in doing so elevated the power held by the paterfamilias. In a Roman family absolute authority is held by the father or the head of the household. The power of the paterfamilias was unrestricted and enabled him as the head of the house to control every aspect in the lives of his family. Most dramatically the form of this power was exercised in vitae necisque potestas or his ability to sentence his family members to death. This power extended over all the of father’s legitimate children, and included any slaves he owned. Frequently his wife was included if the arrangement of

The continual decrease in birth rates was an alarming indicator of a decreasing elite class and of the depravity and adultery that plagued the Roman upper classes. Augustus believed that Rome’s long- term survival required adult citizens to produce more children but he did not want to deem this task up to individual conscience (wiki). These new laws which played a central role in the roman family unit for the next three centuries, absorbed and elevated the traditional power of the father figure in a Roman household. Created by Virgil the ancestral Roman hero Aeneas became an icon of Roman pietas or respect. He is often depicted escaping Troy with his father on his back and his son close at hand; The family man who looks back respectfully to the past generation and fights to secure the honor of the next (WoR). There were two sides of this legislation. The first side made marriage and the bearing of children a duty to the state. To ensure better results, the state offered incentives, such as tax breaks, to citizens who observed the laws and imposed several impairments on citizens who refused (Wiki). These laws enforced marriage *upon young men and women within similar age ranges, and remarriage on the divorced and widowed person within certain time limits***. The other side of this legislation placed family morality in higher

This power extended over all the of father’s legitimate children, and included any slaves he owned. Frequently his wife was included if the arrangement of their marriage allowed for her transfer from paternal control to her husband (WOR). ** The father or paterfamilias, is responsible for the well- being and reputation of his household; a trait which we can see in Phormio, that the senex, Demipho, takes very serious. He is in charge of insuring that his entire household abides by the laws and principles of the Twelve Tables (Wiki). The power of the paterfamilias was unrestricted and enabled him to invade and control every aspect in the lives of his family members. Most dramatically in the form of this power was exercised in vitae necisque potestas or his ability to sentence his family members to death. Believed that such an authority of power was derived from an Etruscan model, the head of the household held the right to kill one’s family members and in some cases used this power without consequence