How They Did It - Growing Up Roman
Invicta・2 minutes read
Romans had a strict social structure where the paterfamilias held authority over the family, birth was perilous, children were celebrated and cared for, educated starting at age 7, transitioned into adulthood in their early 20s, and underwent rituals marking their progression towards responsible adulthood, including military service. Political figures like Cataline exploited the impetuous nature of Roman youth, using it to their advantage.
Insights
- The Roman social structure was heavily patriarchal, with the paterfamilias holding significant authority over the family, including the power to accept or abandon newborns, reflecting a system focused on maintaining the family name and lineage.
- Roman children underwent a structured upbringing that transitioned them from infancy to responsible adulthood, involving rituals like the donning of the toga virilis and military service, marking key milestones in their development and integration into society.
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How were Roman newborns celebrated?
With a celebration about a week after birth, male children often received their father's name and a bula, a protective amulet, while both boys and girls wore a white toga with a purple border for protection.
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Summary
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Roman Family Life and Child Rearing Practices
- Romans were raised in a social framework where the paterfamilias held authority over the family, including slaves and children, with the responsibility of maintaining the family name.
- Wealthy Roman families focused their primary residence around their family history, with the atrium of the house adorned with ancestors' faces, busts, or masks to preserve their memory.
- Childbirth in ancient Rome was a perilous experience, with a high mortality rate for both infants and mothers, leading to various superstitions and religious practices surrounding childbirth.
- Roman newborns were inspected by the paterfamilias, who decided whether to accept them into the family, with abandonment being a common practice, especially for families unable to afford a child.
- Newborn Roman children were celebrated about a week after birth, with male children often receiving their father's name and a bula, a protective amulet, while both boys and girls wore a white toga with a purple border for protection.
- Roman children were swaddled and subjected to body manipulation practices to encourage optimal form and values, with parents closely monitoring their development to protect them from high death rates.
- Childcare in Rome involved nurses and pedagogues, with the latter teaching children various skills and values, often forming lifelong bonds with the children.
- Roman children enjoyed playing various games, such as skipping stones, knucklebones, and make-believe scenarios, with activities like swimming, fishing, and athletics also being popular.
- At the age of seven, Roman children began their primary education, focusing on grammar, rhetoric, and other subjects, with schools being punitive and teachers having the authority to beat children for various reasons.
- Boys were taught by their fathers between the ages of 7 and 14, gradually taking on more responsibilities and observing business routines, while girls were prepared for marriage and adulthood through skills like spinning and weaving.
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Transition from Roman boyhood to manhood
- Roman boys between 14 and 22 were considered adult men but also seen as infected by madness, which they recovered from in their early 20s before becoming normal members of society.
- Ptolemy classified youth as impetuous with desire, a characteristic often exploited by politicians like Cataline to easily convince them.
- Boys underwent a ritual between ages 14 to 17, transitioning into manhood by donning the toga virilis, marking their legal adulthood.
- Roman teenagers did not shave until they had a full beard, symbolizing their progression towards responsible adulthood, with the first shave occurring at the festival of lumen alia.
- Young men were molded into soldiers during their teenage years, with military service being compulsory for male citizens during the Roman Republic, seen as the final step in their transition from boys to men.
