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young women - rome, prescribed source - SAPPHO FRESCO, paterfamilias - the…
young women - rome
upbringing and education
on its 8th day, the family held a naming ceremony for th child (they were simply given a feminine version of their fathers name)
during the naming ceremony the family would make offerings to the gods int he home and there would be a party for family and friends. the baby would be given gifts and a bulla to ward off evil spirits
if a baby girl was accepted into the family, they would put out a couch for Juno (goddess of marriage and queen of gods) - this invited the goddess into the house and she would watch over the baby in its first days (when it was at its weakest and at risk of death)
the bulla would be warn throughout childhood and given up when they entered adulthood. for girls, this meant on their wedding day
babies were only exposed in a small number of cases, but roman girls were at a greater risk of being rejected than boys. this is because girls were a greater financial drain and they would need to be provided with an expensive dowry
when a baby was born, a midwife would inspect it for any physical deformities and then leave it at the paterfamilias' feet. if the paterfamilias picked it up and lifted it into the air, it was formally accepted into the family, but if he left it at his feet, the baby would be given to the midwife or the family slaves to expose
it was usual for roman girls to be taught reading, writing and arithmetic from a teacher known as a litterator
the paterfamilias was responsible for choosing whether or not a child would be accepted into the family or rejected
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as in athens, when a roman child was born they were under the control of the head of the household - the paterfamilias. roman women would spend their entire life under the authority of the paterfamilias
there was no state education system so families had to arrange education for their children - the poorest families couldn't afford to have education for any of their children
when girls were educated, they would be instructed in domestic tasks - e.g spinning, weaving, cooking and managing the house by a female slave or mother (as well as the basic literacy and numeracy skills)
advanced subjects (e.g geometry, history, music, philosophy, law and most importantly, rhetoric - the art of public speaking) were usually only taught to boys
wedding celebrations
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procession - groom drag bride away from mother with force, celebrants would escort couple through streets, singing wedding hymns
friends and family might carry spindles with them - represent brides domestic tasks and the groom would throw nuts and dried fruits to the crowd
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during procession bride would carry 3 coins - 1 dropped during procession as offering to JANUS, 1 for husband (symbolise dowry) and 1 to Lares of new household
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when arrived at the grooms house, bride would wrap wool around the door posts (symbol of domestic tasks) and she would be carried across the threshold by her new husband (bad omen if bride tripped on her way into house)
wife would be led to the hearth, which she would light using a torch from the wedding procession. the couple would be led to their wedding couch
marriage customs
wealthier families - usually celebrate engagement with a party. family and friends would be invited to brides house and groom would give her gifts - often he would give her a ring
from the moment both families had agreed to dowry and to the match, the couple were betrothed (only a formality and didn't change anything legally - could be cancelled at any time)
young girls were betrothed as young as 7 so it is unlikely she would have gone against fathers choice
roman law stated that a young girl was free to reject a fiancé, but only if her father had chosen a man of bad character or unworthy
betrothal - paterfamilias would agree a dowry with grooms family and bride and groom had to give consent, HOWEVER (Catullus poem) girls did not get a huge say
paterfamilias selected appropirate matches - reasons : business deal/political relationship between male members of households, improving social standing, financial gain for grooms family (dowry)
usus
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(likely that uses weddings would have been celebrated in similar ways to coemptio and confarreatio weddings)
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if wife wanted to remain a member of her paterfamilias' household and not come under control. of her husband, she would be married by uses, but had to spend 3 consecutive nights away from her husband each year
if she didn't. do this, the marriage could become cum manu, and she legally transferred to her husbands family
confarreatio
couple offered a ceremonial cake in the presence of Rome's chief priest, the PONTIFEX MAXIMUS
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coemptio
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the brides paterfamilias would present a single coin, representing dowry in the scales and 'sold' her
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poorer roman girls held jobs such as hairdressers, jewellery makers and bakers
MAESIA - SUCCESEFULLY DEFENDED HERSELF IN LAW COURT (MUST HAVE LEARNT RHETORICS) labelled "androgyne" - thought to have the spirit of a man
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lares - the roman family's household gods, representing the spirits of the family ancestors
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