The Roman Family / Edition 1

by Suzanne Dixon

Overview

Unfaithful spouses, divorce and remarriage, rebellious children, aging parents-today's headlines are filled with issues said to be responsible for a "breakdown" of the traditional family. But are any of these problems truly new? What can we learn from the ways in which societies dealt with them in the past? Suzanne Dixon sets the current debate about the family against a broader context in The Roman Family, the first book to bring together what historians, anthropologists, and philologists have learned about the family in ancient Rome.

Dixon begins by reviewing the controversies regarding the family in general and the Roman family in particular. After considering the problems of evidence, she explores what the Roman concept of "family" really meant and how Roman families functioned. Turning to the legal status of the Roman family, she shows how previous studies, which relied exclusively on legal evidence, fell short of describing the reality of Roman life. (Many relations not recognized by law-the slave family, for instance, or the marriage of imperial soldiers-were tolerated socially and eventually gained some legal recognition.) Other topics include love and other aspects of the institution of marriage, the role of the children in the family, how families adjusted to new members, and how they dealt with aging and death.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801842009
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	04/01/1992
Series:	Ancient Society and History
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Dr. Suzanne Dixon is the author of Cornelia: Mother of the Gracchi and The Roman Mother.

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments
Chapter 1. In Search of the Roman Family
Chapter 2. Roman Family Relations and the Law
Chapter 3. Marriage
Chapter 4. Children in the Roman Family
Chapter 5. The Family through the Life Cycle
Chapter 6. Conclusion
Plates
Notes
Chronological Guide to Roman History
Bibliography
Index
Books in the Series

Editorial Reviews

One of the very best volumes in the Ancient Society and History series . . . The material is well presented and skillfully analyzed so as to expose the 'true' rather than the theoretical.
—Greece and Rome.

From the Publisher

Brings together what historians, anthropologists, and philologists have learned about the family in ancient Rome. Among the topics: family relations and the law, marriage, children in the Roman family, and the family through the life cycle. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

One of the very best volumes in the Ancient Society and History series . . . The material is well presented and skillfully analyzed so as to expose the 'true' rather than the theoretical.

Greece and Rome.