Ancient Roman FAQs
Mariana Ocampo
Writing
Family
Roman Parents also differ from modern parents for a variety of reasons. The first reason is that the father gets to decide weather to keep a newborn baby or leave it to die. Also the father always gets custody of the child in other words, the father will always legally own the children. Another way they were different was that the parents not only grew close to their own children but also to the children of their slaves. The parents cared about their slaves and their slave's children and they treated them like family. Lastly, Roman mothers are different because she prepares her daughters to be a good wife and mother because the parents always arrange their children's marriages.
Roman names are different from modern names in that roman names have more meaning and importance to the Roman social structure. Women had two names, a nomen and a paranomen. A nomen is known as a last name and comes from the name of their clan which represents their social status. A paranomen is known as the first name and it's used to identify the individual. Most men also had two names but some of them had three with the third being the cognomen or a name that linked the man with his personal characteristics. Men/ boys's names got passed down in generations while girl's were given the same name as her sisters if she had sisters (ex. Spurius I, Spurius II, Spurius III...). Slaves were often called "por" which was slang for "puer" which means boy.
Clothing-Men's and Boys'
Roman boys also wore something called a bulla which was a neck chain and round pouch containing protective amulets. For rich or upper class boys, their bulla was made of gold. Some boys also wore small gold rings covered with a phallus for good luck.
Clothing-Women's and Girls'
Citations
"Writing and Language." World Eras. Ed. John T. Kirby. Vol. 3: Roman Republic and Empire, 264 B.C.E.- 476 C.E. Detroit: Gale, 2001. 170-172. World History in Context. Web. 6 Oct. 2015.
"Family." The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of Ancient Rome. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 200
“Names." The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of Ancient Rome. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2002. 181-182. World History in Context. Web. 6 Oct. 2015.2. 153-155. World History in Context. Web. 6 Oct. 2015.
Tortora, Phyllis. "Toga." Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion. Ed. Valerie Steele. Vol. 3. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2005. 329-331. World History in Context. Web. 6 Oct. 2015.
McManus, Barbara F. "Roman Clothing, Part I." Roman Clothing, Part I. VROMA, Aug. 2003. Web. 14 Sept. 2015.
“The Dress of Roman Women." Arts and Humanities Through the Eras. Ed. Edward I. Bleiberg, et al. Vol. 2: Ancient Greece and Rome 1200 B.C.E.-476 C.E. Detroit: Gale, 2005. 106-109. World History in Context. Web. 6 Oct. 2015.