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. This page intentionally left blank: 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 This page intentionally left blank: 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.