Roman Family: Developments In The Early Roman Republic

Developments in the Roman family:

In the early Roman Republic social hierarchy was split in to two orders, the plebeians and the patricians. The patricians were the small group of aristocrats and the plebeians were the rest of the population. Conflict arose between the two orders for several reasons which included the patricians’ control of the public religion which lead them to control political offices. Their political controls lead them to often rule in favor of their own interests. Unrest arose over marriage as well. Patricians were in general wealthier than most plebeians although there were some wealthy plebeians as well. Intermarriage between patricians and plebeians was not allowed regardless of their wealth, social hierarchy was too

Although the mother and the father had the responsibility of raising and teaching the children, by law, the father had the patria potestas or “the father’s power”, meaning he was in control of his children, slaves, and their property. Patria potestas did not give the husband power of his wife as she was still under her father’s power until he died. Although the legal position of Roman women in the Republic did not allow for them to conduct business of their own accord, a roman woman with no husband or father was relatively independent, even though she needed a male guardian to conduct business on her behalf. Women in general had no political role but wealthy women could still influence politics by expressing their opinions to male relatives and friends at dinner parties and in their homes. Women like Cornelia, mother of Gaius and Tiberius Gracchus, an aristocrat from the second century B.C.E. Cornelia was highly respected for turning down the proposal of King Ptolemy VIII of Egypt after her husband’s death. She refused so she could continue to manage her household and educate her remaining children, a daughter and two sons. Her sons would later become famous for becoming among the most influential political leaders in the late Roman Republic. Women could be so influential that the politician and author, Marcus Porcius Cato once said, “All mankind rule their wives, we [Roman men] rule all mankind, and our wives rule us.” (pg

Augustus’ family and marriage legislation’s aim was to give privileges to families with three or more children and to make the bond between husband and wife stronger by making adultery a crime. He supported this so much that he exiled his only daughter and granddaughter for sex scandals. However, his legislation did not have much of an impact as the numbers of the social elite families continued to dwindle. Childbirth in Roman times was difficult for all social classes and being single as a man or woman, from any class, began to be viewed as a failure in society for being childless. Girls in their early teens often had arranged marriages; they married young so that they could have the most years to have children because many babies died young. Cornelia, for example, had had nine children of which only three survived. Bearing children gave status to women but due to being a doctor being seen as a low status job, there were many hazards in giving birth. Doctors were often freedmen with little training. Complications in childbirth, like hemorrhaging, often lead to the mother’s death. The need for families and children inspired emperors to often give money to feed the needy children