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{{Short description|Social institution in the classical Roman civilization}}
[[File:Roman marriage vows.jpg|300px|thumb|upright=1.5|Roman couple joining hands (''dextrarum iunctio''); the bride's [[Zone (vestment)|belt]] may show the knot symbolizing that the husband was "belted and bound" to her, which he was to untie in their bed (4th century sarcophagus)<ref>''Cinctus vinctusque'', according to [[Sextus Pompeius Festus|Festus]] 55 (edition of Lindsay); Karen K. Hersch, ''The Roman Wedding: Ritual and Meaning in Antiquity'' (Cambridge University Press, 2010), pp. 101, 110, 211 .</ref>]]
'''Marriage in ancient Rome''' ({{lang|la|conubium}}) was a fundamental institution of society and was used by Romans primarily as a tool for [[marriage alliance|interfamilial alliances]]. The institution of Roman marriage was a practice of [[monogamy|
Roman marriage had [[Roman mythology|precedents in myth]]. The [[The Rape of the Sabine Women|abduction of the Sabine Women]] may reflect the archaic custom of [[bride abduction]]. Rome's [[Sabine]] neighbours rejected overtures of intermarriage (''conubium'') by [[Romulus]] and his band of male immigrants. According to [[Livy]], Romulus and his men abducted the Sabine maidens but promised them honorable marriage, in which they would enjoy the benefits of property, citizenship, and [[Children of Ancient Rome|children]].
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Marriage ({{lang|la|conubium}}) was one of the fundamental institutions of Roman society, as it joined not only two individuals but two families. The Romans considered marriage a partnership, whose primary purpose was to have legitimate descendants to whom property, status, and family qualities could be handed down through the generations.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Evans Grubbs |first=Judith |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=spCFAgAAQBAJ |title=Women and the Law in the Roman Empire: a sourcebook on marriage, divorce and widowhood |publisher=Taylor & Francis |date=June 2002 |isbn=9781134743926 |pages=81}}</ref>
Marriage had [[Roman mythology|mythical precedents]], starting with the [[The Rape of the Sabine Women|abduction of the Sabine Women]], which may reflect the archaic custom of [[bride abduction]]. [[Romulus]] and his band of male immigrants approached the Sabines for ''conubium'', the legal right to intermarriage, from the [[Sabines]]. According to [[Livy]], [[Romulus]] and his men abducted the Sabine maidens, but promised them an honorable marriage, in which they would enjoy the benefits of property, citizenship, and [[children of Ancient Rome|children]].<ref>Treggiari, Susan (1991). ''Roman Marriage''. New York: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|0-19-814890-9}} esp. p. 8f</ref>
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[[File:Inscription Faustina Antoninus Ostia Antica 2006-09-08.jpg|upright=1.5|thumb|Inscription (''[[Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum|CIL]]'' 14.5326) from [[Ostia Antica]] recording a decree that newlyweds are to pray and sacrifice before the altar to the [[imperial cult (ancient Rome)|imperial]] couple [[Antoninus Pius]] and [[Faustina the Elder|Faustina]] as exemplifying [[Concordia (mythology)|Concordia]], marital harmony<ref>[[Paul Zanker]] and Björn C. Ewald, ''Living with Myths: The Imagery of Sarcophagi'' (Oxford University Press, 2012), p. 190; Maud Gleason, "Making Space for Bicultural Identity: Herodes Atticus Commemorates Regilla," in ''Local Knowledge and Microidentities in the Imperial Greek World'' (Cambridge University Press, 2010), p. 138.</ref>]]
Following the [[Crisis of the Roman Republic|collapse of the Republic]], laws about marriage, parenting, and [[adultery]] were part of [[Augustus]]' program to restore the ''[[mos maiorum]]'' (traditional [[social norms]]) while consolidating his power as ''[[princeps]]'' and ''pater familias'' of the Roman state.<ref>[[#Edwards|Edwards]], pp. 34ff., 41–42 ''et passim''; and "Unspeakable Professions: Public Performance and Prostitution in Ancient Rome," in ''Roman Sexualities'' (Princeton University Press, 1997), pp. 67, 89–90 ''et passim''.</ref> Marriage and remarriage had become less frequent, and the citizen birth rate had fallen, particularly among the wealthier, more leisured classes. Augustan law on marriage and family life encouraged marriage, having children, and punished adultery as a crime.<ref name=Mary>[[#Lefkowitz|Lefkowitz]], p. 102.</ref> The new legislation formalized and enforced what had been considered a traditional, moral duty to family and the State; all men between 25 and 60 years of age, and all women between 20 and 50 were to marry and have children, or pay extra tax in proportion to their wealth. Members of the upper classes thus had most to lose. Citizens who had already produced three children, and freed persons who had produced four, were exempt. Marriages between senators, freed women, enslaved people and citizens were declared legally void. Children born to such liaisons were illegitimate, non-citizen and unable to inherit.<ref>Frank, Richard I., "Augustus' Legislation on Marriage and Children," ''California Studies in Classical Antiquity'', Vol. 8, 1975, pp. 44–45 University of California Press DOI: 10.2307/25010681 {{Subscription required |via=[[JSTOR]]}}</ref>
A married woman who bore three children or more could be granted legal independence under the ''[[ius trium liberorum|ius liberorum]]''.<ref>Thomas, "The Division of the Sexes," p. 133.</ref> These laws were poorly received; they were modified in
[[Roman citizenship|Roman citizen]] women could have only one sexual partner at a time but allowed [[divorce]] and [[remarriage]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Evans Grubbs |first=Judith |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Women_and_the_Law_in_the_Roman_Empire/spCFAgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gl=INonepage&q&f=false |title=Women and the Law in the Roman Empire: a sourcebook on marriage, divorce and widowhood |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=June 2002 |isbn=9781134743926 |pages=148, 220, 220}}</ref> In the case of Roman citizen men, it is not clear whether the condition that a man is not able to have a concubine at the time that he has a wife pre-dates or post-dates the Constantinian law;<ref>{{Cite book |last=Evans Grubbs |first=Judith |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=spCFAgAAQBAJ |title=Women and the Law in the Roman Empire: a sourcebook on marriage, divorce and widowhood |publisher=Taylor & Francis |date=June 2002 |isbn=9781134743926 |pages=303}}</ref> ie., whether concubinage existed concurrently with marriage for men in Ancient Rome has been debated in modern scholarship and the evidence is inconclusive: it was not until the sixth century CE, after centuries of Christian influence, that the [[Justinian I|emperor Justinian]] claimed that “ancient law” prohibited husbands from keeping wives and concubines at the same time.<ref>Scheidel, Walter, "A peculiar institution? Greco–Roman monogamy in global context", 2006, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-2145, USA (2006), In ''History of the Family'' 14 (2009), Elsevier, pp. 283</ref> According to Walter Schedule, conditions in the Ancient Rome are best defined as prescriptively monogamous marriage that co-existed with male resource polygyny; powerful men had a principal wife and several secondary sexual partners.<ref>Scheidel, Walter, "A peculiar institution? Greco–Roman monogamy in global context", 2006, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-2145, USA (2006), In ''History of the Family'' 14 (2009), Elsevier, pp. 280</ref> A married man's sexual activities with slaves, prostitutes, or other women of low status were not, in legal terms, adultery, and he could not be prosecuted under Augustus Laws.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Evans Grubbs |first=Judith |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=spCFAgAAQBAJ |title=Women and the Law in the Roman Empire: a sourcebook on marriage, divorce and widowhood |publisher=Taylor & Francis |date=June 2002 |isbn=9781134743926 |pages=210}}</ref> Under the adultery law, married man would only be committing adultery if his lover were someone else's wife.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Evans Grubbs |first=Judith |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=spCFAgAAQBAJ |title=Women and the Law in the Roman Empire: a sourcebook on marriage, divorce and widowhood |publisher=Taylor & Francis |date=June 2002 |isbn=9781134743926 |pages=203}}</ref>
===Wedding ceremonies===
{{Main|Weddings in Ancient Rome}}
[[File:Casa della Farnesina - Cubiculum D - Right wall - Left Side.jpg|thumb|300px|A groom encourages his demure bride while a servant looks on; wall painting, Casa della Farnesina in Rome (
A ''confarreatio'' wedding ceremony was a rare event reserved for the highest echelons of Rome's elite. The [[Flamen Dialis]] and [[pontifex maximus]] presided, with ten witnesses present, and the bride and bridegroom shared a cake of [[spelt]] (in [[Latin]]
The lighting of a sacred torch in honor of [[Ceres (mythology)|Ceres]] was part of the celebration, intended to impart fertility upon the couple.<ref>"The most [[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#arbor felix|auspicious wood]] for wedding torches came from the ''spina alba'', the [[Crataegus|may tree]], which bore many fruits and hence symbolised fertility": [[Spaeth, Barbette Stanley]], ''The Roman goddess Ceres'', University of Texas Press, 1996. {{ISBN|0-292-77693-4}}. Spaeth is citing [[Pliny the Elder]], ''Historia Naturalis'', 30.75.</ref> A wedding sacrifice was also offered, with a sow being the most likely [[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#victima|choice]].<ref>
Varro, ''Rerum Rusticarum'', 2.4.10 describes the sacrifice of a pig as "a worthy mark of weddings" because "our women, and especially nurses" call the female genitalia ''porcus'' (pig). Ceres may have been included in the sacrificial dedication, because she is closely identified with Tellus and, as ''Ceres legifera'' (law-bearer), she "bears the laws" of marriage; see Spaeth, 1996, pp. 5, 6, 44–47</ref><ref>[[Maurus Servius Honoratus|Servius]], ''On Vergil's Aeneid'', 4.58, "implies that Ceres established the laws for weddings as well as for other aspects of civilized life." For more on Roman attitudes to marriage and sexuality, Ceres' role at marriages and the ideal of a "chaste married life" for Roman matrons, see Staples, Ariadne, ''From Good Goddess to vestal virgins: sex and category in Roman religion'', Routledge, 1998, pp. 84–93.</ref> The day after the wedding, the husband would hold a dinner party, and the bride made an offering to the [[Lares]] and other domestic deities of her new home.<ref name=Treggiari/><ref>Orr, D. G., Roman domestic religion: the evidence of the household shrines, pp. 15–16 in ''Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt'', II, 16, 2, Berlin, 1978, 1557‑91.</ref>
===Dowry===
[[Dowry]] (Latin ''{{Lang|la|dos}}'', a gift) was the payment made by a wife's family to her husband nominally to cover their household expenses. It was more customary than compulsory. Ancient [[papyrus]] texts show that dowries typically included land and enslaved people but could also include [[jewelry]], [[toiletries]], [[mirror]]s, and clothing.
While a marriage lasted, the dowry was the husband's property, but his use was restricted; if the marriage ended through divorce, it was returned to either the wife or her family.<ref>[[#Gardner|Gardner]], p. 97.</ref><ref>[[#Gardner|Gardner]], p. 102.</ref> If the husband committed offenses which led to divorce, he lost claim to any share in the dowry. If a wife was blameless for the ending of her marriage, the dowry was restored to her. If a wife or husband with children initiated a divorce, their partner could claim a share of the dowry on behalf of the children to meet their needs and later inheritance.<ref name=Treggiari>Treggiari, Susan. (1991). "Divorce Roman Style: How easy and how Frequent was it?" In ''Marriage, Divorce, and Children in Ancient Rome'', eds. Beryl Rawson, pp. 31–46. Oxford: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|0-19-814918-2}}.</ref>
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===Divorce===
Lawful [[divorce]] was relatively informal; the wife took back her dowry and left her husband's house. Roman men had always held the right to divorce their wives; a ''pater familias'' could order the divorce of any couple under his ''manus''.<ref>He had no power over daughters given in ''manus'' marriage to another; see Treggiari, Susan, "Divorce Roman Style: How easy and how Frequent was it?" In Rawson, B., (editor), ''Marriage, Divorce, and Children in Ancient Rome'', Oxford University Press, 1991, p.37. {{ISBN|0-19-814918-2}}</ref> According to the historian [[Valerius Maximus]], divorces were taking place by 604
However, elsewhere, it is claimed that the first divorce occurred only in 230
Divorce by either party severed the lawful family alliance that had been formed through the marriage, and remarriage might create an entirely new set of economically or politically beneficial partnerships. Among the elite, husbands and wives might remarry several times.<ref name=Barbara/>
Only one spouse's will was required for any divorce, even if the divorced party was not informed. A spouse who had entered marriage sane and healthy but became incapable of sound judgment (insane) was incompetent and could not divorce their partner; they could be divorced without their knowledge or legal notice. Divorce, like marriage, was considered a family affair. It was discussed and agreed upon in private, in an informal family gathering of the parties most affected; the husband, wife, and senior members of both families. No public record was kept of the proceedings. Official registration of divorce was not required until 449
===Remarriage===
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Because elite marriages often occurred for reasons of politics or property, a widow or divorcée with assets in these areas faced few obstacles to remarrying. She was far more likely to be legally emancipated than a first-time bride and to have a say in the choice of husband. The marriages of [[Fulvia]], who commanded troops during the last civil war of the Republic and who was the first Roman woman to have her face on a coin, are thought to indicate her political sympathies and ambitions: she was married first to the [[populares|popularist]] champion [[Publius Clodius Pulcher|Clodius Pulcher]], who was murdered in the street after a long feud with Cicero; then to [[Gaius Scribonius Curio (praetor 49 BC)|Scribonius Curio]], a figure of less ideological certitude who at the time of his death had come over to Julius Caesar; and finally to [[Mark Antony]], the last opponent to the republican oligarchs and to Rome's future first emperor.
Most wives were encouraged to remarry after the husband's death or after a divorce; and a high [[death rate]], low average [[life expectancy]], and high [[divorce rate]] meant frequent or multiple remarriages.<ref name=Bradley>Bradley, K. R. (1991) "Remarriage and the Structure of the Upper-Class Roman Family." in ''Marriage, Divorce, and Children in Ancient Rome'', eds. Beryl Rawson, pp. 79–98. Oxford: Oxford University Press.</ref> Since children were expected in marriage, each spouse usually brought at least one child to the new union. Remarriages thus created a unique blending of the family in ancient Roman society, where children were influenced by [[stepparent]]s and some instances where [[stepmother]]s were younger than their [[Stepfamily|stepchildren]].<ref name=Bradley/> Ancient [[physician]]s believed that a woman was liable to get very sick if she was deprived of [[Human sexual activity|sexual activity]] and it could even lead to a woman getting
===Adultery===
[[File:Affresco romano - Enea e di.jpg|thumb|[[Dido]] embracing [[Aeneas]], from a Roman fresco in the [[House of Citharist]] in [[Pompeii]], Italy; [[Pompeian Styles|Pompeian Third Style]] (10
Adultery was a sexual offense committed by a man with a woman who was neither his wife nor a permissible partner, such as a [[Prostitution in ancient Rome|prostitute]] or [[Slavery in ancient Rome|enslaved person]].<ref name=ginn>{{cite journal|doi=10.2307/284457 |jstor=284457 |title=Concubinage and the Lex Iulia on Adultery |journal=Transactions of the American Philological Association |volume=121 |pages=335–375 (341–342)|year=1991 |last1=McGinn |first1=Thomas A. J. }}</ref> A married man committed adultery mainly when his female partner was another man's wife or unmarried daughter.<ref>[[#Nussbaum|Nussbaum]], p. 305.</ref> The punishment varied at different periods of Roman history and depending on the circumstances.
Although prohibitions against adultery and harsh punishments were mentioned during the [[Roman Republic|Republic]] (509–27
As part of the moral legislation of Augustus in 18
A wronged husband was entitled to kill his wife's lover if the man were either [[Slavery in ancient Rome|enslaved]] or ''[[infamia|infamis]]'', a person who was perhaps technically free and excluded from the standard legal protections extended to Roman citizens. Among the ''infames'' were convicted criminals, [[Sexuality in ancient Rome#Pleasure and infamy|entertainers]] such as actors and dancers, [[Prostitution in ancient Rome|prostitutes and pimps]], and [[gladiator]]s.<ref>[[#Edwards|Edwards]], p. 38, citing the [[jurist]] [[Julius Paulus|Paulus]], ''Sententiae '' 2.26.4.</ref> He was not allowed to kill his wife, who was not under his legal authority.<ref name="Edwards, p. 38"/> However, if he chose to kill the lover, the husband was required to divorce his wife within three days and to have her formally charged with adultery.<ref>[[#Edwards|Edwards]], pp. 38–39.</ref> If a husband was aware of the affair and did nothing, he could be accused of [[procuring (prostitution)|pandering]] (''lenocinium'', from ''leno'', "pimp").<ref>[[#Edwards|Edwards]], p. 39, citing Ulpian, ''Digest'' 48.5.2.2; 48.5.2.6.</ref>
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* [[Contubernium]]
* [[Weddings in ancient Rome]]
==Notes==
{{Notelist}}
==References==
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| pages = 42–69
| doi = 10.2307/1087137
| publisher =
| jstor = 1087137
}}
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