Men And the family
Men dominated and ran the Roman civilization. They were the most active in politics, because women didn't get many rights. However, behind the political scenes of the Roman empire, the men had different rights and responsibilities in the life of their families. As the head of the family, men could choose to keep the newborns, or kill them. There was a law in the Twelve Tables that stated that the head man of the family was required to leave an infant to die if it was deformed. He could arrange his daughters marriages, and he owned everything that the family members owned. He was also, legally under the Twelve Tables, able to sell his children. However, later by Diocletian and Maximian, this law made the selling of children into slavery unlawful. Other laws were also put in place so that the head of the family didn't have as much power over the family and other members could have more rights.
Image found at Social Order. This is a picture of a Roman Farmer. I included this image to give a depiction of how men looked in Ancient Rome.
Responsibilities:
- Held authority of everyone in the family (was also responsible for them)
- Register for census
Rights:
- Control over all property owned by the family
- Punish Relatives
- Decide if a newborn will be raised in the family or be left outside to die
- Arrange his daughters marriages
- Hold political office
Women
Image from The Roman Empire in the First Century- Women. I included this image to give a depiction of what roman women looked like.
The women of ancient Rome did not have as many rights as the men of their time did, much like many other societies and nations; however, the women of Rome were still able to be influential though their powerful male relatives. When things went wrong in a Roman war, they donated their jewels and gold to pay off debt. When rights were taken from women, such as rights in the Oppian law, (limited gold that could be owned by women, no riding carriages, etc.) and not returned, women would protest in the streets. In the case of the Oppian law, Roman women were successful.
Responsibilities
- Hide their wealth and children from other countries when wars went badly
- Arrange marriages for children orphaned in war
- Give birth to and raised sons
- Play key roles in religious festivals
- Ran the household with husband
Rights
Women did not have as many rights as men and they were not considered their equal. Women were not able to have their own name. It was usually the feminine version of her fathers name. Girls were also the main baby gender that was exposed and left to die. Women couldn't even drink wine as it was thought to lead to adulteries. They were also required to have a male guardian (husband or father) their entire life.
- Advise powerful male relatives
- Become priestesses
- File for Divorce
- Inherit and control property
- Basic education (for some)
Women did not have as many rights as men and they were not considered their equal. Women were not able to have their own name. It was usually the feminine version of her fathers name. Girls were also the main baby gender that was exposed and left to die. Women couldn't even drink wine as it was thought to lead to adulteries. They were also required to have a male guardian (husband or father) their entire life.