Family and education in ancient Rome
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Family
The basic units of Roman society were households and families.Households included the head (usually the father) of the
household, pater familias (father of the family), his wife,
children, and other relatives. In the upper classes, slaves and
servants were also part of the household. The head of the household
had great power (patria potestas, "father's power") over those
living with him: He could force marriage (usually for money) and
divorce, sell his children into slavery, claim his dependents'
property as his own, and even had the right to punish or kill family
members (though this last right apparently ceased to be exercised
after the 1st century BC).
Patria potestas even extended over adult sons with their own
households: A man was not considered a paterfamilias, nor could he
truly hold property, while his own father lived. |
During the early period of Rome's history, a daughter, when she
married, fell under the control (manus) of the paterfamilias of her
husband's household, although by the late Republic this fell out of
fashion, as a woman could choose to continue recognizing her
father's family as her true family. However, as Romans reckoned
descent through the male line, any children she had would belong to
her husband's family.
Groups of related households formed a family (gens). Families were
based on blood ties or adoption, but were also political and
economic alliances. Especially during the Roman Republic, some
powerful families, or Gentes Maiores, came to dominate political
life.
Ancient Roman marriage was often regarded more as a financial and
political alliance than as a romantic association, especially in the
upper classes. Fathers usually began seeking husbands for their
daughters when they reached an age between twelve and fourteen. The
husband was almost always older than the bride. While upper class
girls married very young, there is evidence that lower class women
often married in their late teens or early twenties.EducationRoman school
In the early Republic, there were no public schools, so boys were
taught to read and write by their parents, or by educated slaves,
called paedagogi, usually of Greek origin. The primary aim of
education during this period was to train young men in agriculture,
warfare, Roman traditions, and public affairs. Young boys learnt
much about civic life by accompanying their fathers to religious and
political functions, including the Senate for the sons of nobles.
The sons of nobles were apprenticed to a prominent political figure
at the age of 16, and campaigned with the army from the age of 17
(this system would still be in use among some noble families well
into the imperial era). Educational practices were modified
following the conquest of the Hellenistic kingdoms in the 3rd
century BC and the resulting Greek influence, although it should be
noted that Roman educational practices were still significantly
different from Greek ones. If their parents could afford it, boys
and some girls at the age of 7 were sent to a private school outside
the home called a ludus, where a teacher (called a litterator or a
magister ludi, and often of Greek origin) taught them basic reading,
writing, arithmetic, and sometimes Greek, until the age of 11.
Beginning at age 12, students went to secondary schools, where the
teacher (now called a grammaticus) taught them about Greek and Roman
literature.At the age of 16, some students went on to rhetoric
school (where the teacher, almost always Greek, was called a rhetor).
Education at this level prepared students for legal careers, and
required that the students memorize the laws of Rome. Pupils went to
school every day, except religious festivals and market days. There
were also summer holidays. |
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