The Roman Mother

313 Pages·2013·10.667 MB·English

by  Suzanne Dixon

Routledge Revivals
The Roman Mother
The Roman Mother, first published in 1988, traces the traditional
Roman attitude towards mothers to its republican origins, examining
the diverse roles and the relative power and influence associated with
motherhood.
The importance of the paterfamilias with his wide-ranging legal rights
and obligations is familiar, but much less attention has been devoted to
the equally interesting position and duties of mothers and the parti-
cular limitations on their actions. The author considers the legal posi-
tion of the mother, the status of the widow and her testamentary
position; the official promotion of parenthood by Augustan legislation;
and the duties of mother to sons and daughters and vice versa, as they
altered throughout the children’s lives. Literary stereotypes of ideal
senatorial mothers and of wicked step-mothers also have their part to
play in interpreting the Roman view of motherhood, and the influence
of such values on the course of Roman history.
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The Roman Mother
Suzanne Dixon
Routledge
Taylor & Francis Group
REVIVALS
Firstpublishedin1988
byCroomHelmLtd
Thiseditionfirstpublishedin2014byRoutledge
2ParkSquare,MiltonPark,Abingdon,Oxon,OX144RN
andbyRoutledge
711ThirdAvenue,NewYork,NY10017
RoutledgeisanimprintoftheTaylor&FrancisGroup,aninformabusiness
©1988CroomHelmLdt
The right of Suzanne Dixon to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
DesignsandPatentsAct1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
knownor hereafterinvented,includingphotocopyingandrecording,orin any
informationstorageorretrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwritingfromthe
publishers.
Publisher’sNote
Thepublisherhasgonetogreatlengthstoensurethequalityofthisreprintbut
pointsoutthatsomeimperfectionsintheoriginalcopiesmaybeapparent.
Disclaimer
The publisher has made every effort to trace copyright holders and welcomes
correspondencefromthosetheyhavebeenunabletocontact.
ALibraryofCongressrecordexistsunderLCcontrolnumber:87030027
ISBN13:978-0-415-74511-6(hbk)
ISBN13:978-1-315-79811-0(ebk)
Additional materials are available on the companion website at
[ http://www. routledge.com/books/series /Routledge_Revivals ]
THE
ROMAN
MOTHER
SUZANNE DIXON
ROUTLEDGE
London and New York
©
1988 SuzanneD ixon
First publishedi n 1988
by Croom Helm Ltd
Reprinteda nd first publishedi n paperbackin 1990
by Routledge
II New FetterL ane, London EC4P4 EE
Typeseti n lOpt Baskerville by
Leaper& Gard Ltd, Bristol
Printed and bound in GreatB ritain by
Mackayso f ChathamP LC, Chatham,K ent
All rights reserved.N o part of this book may be
reprintedo r reproducedo r utilized in any form or
by any Itlectronic, mechanical,o r other means,n ow
known or hereafteri nvented,i ncluding photocopying
and recording,o r in any information storageo r
retrieval system,w ithout permissioni n writing from
the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Dixon, Suzanne
The Romanm other
I. Ancient Rome. Motherhood
I. Title
306.8'743'0937
ISBN0 -415-04168-6
ISBN 0-7099-4511-6( cased)
Contents
Plates ~
PhotographicS ources Xl
Acknowledgements Xll
Preface XIV
1. Sourcesa nd Parameters 1
2. RomanF amily Relations 13
3. The MaternalR elationshipa nd RomanL aw 41
4. The Official Encouragemenot f Maternity 71
5. The RomanM other and the Young Child 104
6. Mother Substitutes 141
7. The RomanM other and the Adolescento r Adult Son 168
8. Mothers and Daughters 210
9. Conclusion 233
Appendix 1
To/lere Liberos: the Birth of a RomanC hild 237
Appendix 2
Family Trees 241
Inscriptionsd edicatedb y a Mamma 245
SomeU seful RomanD ates 247
Abbreviations 249
Bibliography 251
GeneralI ndex 265
Author Index 277
Index of Inscriptions 284
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Plates
1. A relief panel from the AugustanA ra Pacise nclosure.
DAI Neg. No. 32-1744.
2. Parto f the sacrifice frieze on the Ara Pacise nclosure,
showingt he adultsa nd children of Augustus'f amily.
DAI Neg. No. 72-2403.
3. Trajan distributing largesst o poor children: relief panel.
Alinari No. 11496.
4. Marcus( Aurelius) benefiting the children of the poor.
Alinari No. 2541.
5. Coin issuess howingt he EmpressS abinaa s Pietas,J ulia
Domna,w ife of SeptimiusS everusa nd her sister,J ulia
Maesa,g randmothero f the EmperorsE lagabalusa nd
AlexanderS everus.
(RICHadrian1 041) ANU 69.02; (RICSeptimiusS everus
555) U/Q 91; (RIC Elagabalus2 63) U/Q 93.
6. Terracottar elief of a childbirth scenef rom Ostia.
MuseoO stienseI nv. 5204.
7. Fragmentf rom a sarcophagussh owinga baby immediately
after birth and as a youth or child.
DAI Neg. No. 42-101.
8. Childhood stageso n a marbles arcophagusfr om Trier.
MarburgA rchiv No. 180249.
9. Commemorationo fthe nurseS everina , shown with a
swaddledb aby.
RheinischesB ildarchiv, Koln 120328.
10. Baby's feeding bottle.
U/Q ClassicsI nv. 73/6.