Families in Ancient Rome:
For Romans, family was the most important thing in life. The whole family would all live together in a house or apartment. The family included all unmarried sons and daughters, as well as married sons and their wives. Married daughters went to live with their husband's family.
The families were usually ruled by the oldest male or the father of the family.
They owned all the family's property and had the power of life and death over every family member. They were also responsible for teaching all the younger males both academics and trades, but also how to act in society. Women had no rights. A woman's role was to teach her daughters how to behave, and to raise children. Under the empire women received some rights. They could own property, inherit, even get a paid job.
Children were loved. They were educated to the best of a family's ability to do so. They were allowed to play and visit friends. But they were also trained to obey elders. You never talked back to an elder Roman. You never talked back to your family. Doing those things could actually get you thrown out of the house, exiled by the eldest son or father of the house, and never allowed back.
Social Structure of Ancient Rome:
The plebeians were the lower class. They included everyone who was not a patrician. They were sometimes just called plebs.
The patricians were the upper class. They were the wealthy land owners.
All free adult males were citizens, no matter what their class. In both classes, the oldest male was the paterfamilias(the oldest male or father of the family) or head of the family. Old age was honored, and women had no rights. If you could afford them, both classes owned slaves. The houses of both classes were designed the same way unless you were too poor to own your own home. Everyone worshipped the same gods, and observed the same festivals and holy days. Everyone spoke Latin and everyone went to the baths and enjoyed the forum.
The families were usually ruled by the oldest male or the father of the family.
They owned all the family's property and had the power of life and death over every family member. They were also responsible for teaching all the younger males both academics and trades, but also how to act in society. Women had no rights. A woman's role was to teach her daughters how to behave, and to raise children. Under the empire women received some rights. They could own property, inherit, even get a paid job.
Children were loved. They were educated to the best of a family's ability to do so. They were allowed to play and visit friends. But they were also trained to obey elders. You never talked back to an elder Roman. You never talked back to your family. Doing those things could actually get you thrown out of the house, exiled by the eldest son or father of the house, and never allowed back.
Social Structure of Ancient Rome:
The plebeians were the lower class. They included everyone who was not a patrician. They were sometimes just called plebs.
The patricians were the upper class. They were the wealthy land owners.
All free adult males were citizens, no matter what their class. In both classes, the oldest male was the paterfamilias(the oldest male or father of the family) or head of the family. Old age was honored, and women had no rights. If you could afford them, both classes owned slaves. The houses of both classes were designed the same way unless you were too poor to own your own home. Everyone worshipped the same gods, and observed the same festivals and holy days. Everyone spoke Latin and everyone went to the baths and enjoyed the forum.