The Paterfamilias In Ancient Rome

. More importance was given to the wife rather than the husband, as a companion and producer of children

Women have played important roles throughout history. They have been responsible for the rise and fall of nations, sustaining families, and have been the focal point of worship in ancient religions. Moving forward in history, women's roles have continually changed. Their status as matriarchs changed as the more advanced ancient civilizations rose. The patriarchal societies of ancient Greece and Rome viewed women differently from some societies of past eras. The study of the economic and political status of women, their rights, and their contributions to both these ancient societies reveals how views change throughout history.

The role of women in ancient Rome started out initially to be a limited one, primarily which consisted of being at home with the family. Furthermore, the man was the head of the household, and his authority was not challenged by his wife; she was expected to take a secondary role. This original role for women is often the lasting image that people have.

Women, in general, were expected to be able to run their homes, taking care of their spouses and children in whatever form was needed at the

According to Roman society back in the second century A.D., a Roman family was led by the eldest male. In traditional Roman society, family meant all those under the authority of a male head of household, including

The Roman family was led by the paterfamilias, the eldest dominant male in the family. This person was said to have patria potestas, which in Latin means the power of the father. In richer houses the oldest male even had dominance over the decisions that the servants made. Every decision that was made within the household was determined by the paterfamilias, women were not considered equal. This person determined who all of his children married with little influence from the child. Marriage was considered a business deal and once the daughter was handed over the groom became the dominant figure over her, or the son became the dominant figure. The father also determined who got his and his wife's inheritance and power over the household. Men also had the authority to decide whether they wanted to accept a child into their family or leave it on the street to be taken in as someone else’s slave. The woman

Besides all of this their very most important role within the Society was to become mothers of warriors. Xenophon explains “for free woman the most important job was to bear

In every society, each person has some type of role that they have to fulfill. Whether they are at the top of the hierarchy or at the bottom, everyone had a job they had to do. Social hierarchy in terms of gender were much different in comparison to today. For instance in ancient Greece, men had more rights than women. Women had fewer rights and they were “unable to vote, own land, or inherit”.

The family role of the women in Roman societies is sum what similar to that of Islamic women. Roman women are also responsible for the duties of the household. But instead of the Roman women doing the jobs themselves, they had slaves to do the tasks for them. Her job was to oversee the slaves.(Esposito, April 2005) Islamic wife, the Roman wife was also in charge of the early education of their children. Another job of a wife was to have children. (Lewis, J., p. 56)

“Roman Family

In Ancient Rome the gender roles of males and females were very definite and absolute. Cicero, a famous Roman philosopher, politician, lawyer, orator, political theorist, consul, and constitutionalist (106-43BC), states “Our ancestors established the rule that all women, because of the weakness of their intellect, should be under the power of guardians.” The women of Ancient Rome were not seen as legal equals to their male counterparts and superiors, however they did enjoy rights, responsibilities and power within their own households. Like all Roman society there was a rank of class for the female population, and her roles and rights were influenced by her status. For example, the women from wealthier households often exercised political and

Slaves Slaves were generally prisoners of a war but sometimes abandoned children who were then owned by their masters. Women - (moyak.com) Not much information exists about roman women in the first century. Women were not aloud to be active in politics, so nobody wrote about them. They weren’t taught how to write, so they could not tell their own stories. Legal Rights Women received only a basic education, if any at all, and were subject to the authority of a man.

In ancient Rome, citizens were classified into two separate groups: patrician or plebeian. The patricians were the privileged class of citizens in early Rome; they had the nobility of birth, were wealthy, and monopolized the political and religious aspects of Rome in early times (“Patrician,” 2014, para. 2). In contrast, the plebeians were the general citizenry that made up the majority of the Roman population; initially, they were excluded from the Senate and all public offices (“Plebeian,” 2014, para. 1). The distinction was possibly based on wealth and influence of certain aristocratic families that became the patricians; intermarriage was also forbidden between the two classes in the beginning (“Plebeian,” 2014, para. 1). Originally, Rome

The Roman nuclear family, composed of parents and children, shared lives intimately and influenced each other in ways outsiders did not. Livy, in a quote debating the legal status of children between patricians and plebeians, stated “Of course, the children follow the father.” In Roman society, fathers were considered the most powerful. Romans believed in a theoretical concept of a father’s absolute control, but in reality, all family had power and fathers could be challenged.

of a man. Women were able to hold political positions, possess land, and overall enjoy a