Family Organization in Ancient Rome free essay sample

To imagine family life consisting of anything else that it is today may be a difficult notion to apprehend. Obscure as it is to believe, family life, in Ancient Rome, although seemingly similar, was an entirely different concept. The saying, â€Å"Dad’s going to kill me! † might just be taken literally. Family, or Familia, is composed of a paterfamilias, our equivalent of a father; his male children, married or unmarried; his wife; his unmarried daughters; his daughters-in-law; his servants; the servants’ family; and the family slaves. A Familia is begun by the conjugal pair, domus, and the land and property they own. The bond they share is solely legal, for in these times religion was not involved with marriage. The relationship was a â€Å"partnership of all life, sharing rights human and divine† through the â€Å"union of a man and woman. † Emotions between the paterfamilias and his wife was not romantic, yet it was an emotional bond created for stability and wealth. We will write a custom essay sample on Family Organization in Ancient Rome or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Children did emerge from this bond, and extramarital affairs by the paterfamilias were not only common, but were regular events. The Domus is composed of a wife and the all powerful paterfamilias. This figure can be represented as the father. The paterfamilias is the oldest male member of the household, and has total control over his domain. The children were allowed to have possessions, as long as under the power of their paterfamilias. The possessions the children owned were subject to removal by the paterfamilias into their own possession. Children were not bothered by this law, because in these times life expectancy was short, thus the paterfamilias’ reign did not last long over the household. While in reign, the paterfamilias would arrange marriages for all his children. Personal financial growth was one of his main concerns. Girls would marry from the ages of twelve to fifteen, and boys from fourteen and on. The paterfamilias had the power to sell his children, as well as kill his children. Due to limit the mouths to feed and later property division amongst heirs. Infanticide became a common practice during this era, so popular that searching for abandoned infants became highly rampant. Infants found were usually kept as slaves or sold into slavery. Contraceptives and abortion were known and practiced, but contraceptives lacked perfection and abortions were highly dangerous, if not lethal. The life of a slave was not bad as one would believe. In fact, they lived relatively very well. Owners even encouraged slaves to reproduce. Their responsibilities consisted of those of a wife, for the fact most slaves were bought by wealthy husbands whose wives were tired of the daily house chores. As we do now, Ancient Romans devised a nominal system intended to give individual names as well as family names. A man who does not belong to a clan, or gens, would have two names. First, a praenomen, which is his given name (e. g. Marcus, Titus). Then you have the nomen, which can be the family name, or if his family is unknown, a form of patronymic (e. g. Marcius, Tituis) A man who belongs to a clan, or gens, would have three names. The first, a praenomen, which is his given name. Second, a nomen, which expresses the clan to which he would belong. Lastly, a cognomen, which expresses his family or the branch of his clan. A gens is simply a grouping of paterfamilias and males of different families. A name would be created to represent the clan. An unmarried woman would have two names. The first would be a feminine form of her fathers nomen combined with a cognomen (e. g. Maior, Minor, Tertia. ) This expresses her chronological ranking in the family. For example, Nero Claudius Drusus’s second daughter would be Claudia Secunda. A married woman would take a form of her husbands cognomen and add it to her name. Family life, a concept taken for granted. Learning other ways family life has been can help us to appreciate our own daily life. It is evident how much our culture, as well as the cultures around us, owe to the Ancient Romans. I am thankful, as well as all whom have taken this class, to learn the struggles and achievements the cultures preceding our own have endured, so we may learn and adapt from their history.