Ancient Rome FAQS
Rufus Firoved
Writing
Family
How was a Roman Family different then modern families?
A common roman family included a father, mother, children, and slaves. The head of the family was always the father or paterfamilias. He had all the power and authority in the house. The mother stayed at home taking care of the children, cleaning the house, cooking, and anything else that was asked to be done by her husband. Mothers gave birth at home instead of at a hospital. Many mothers giving birth would die in these times do to a lack of medical aid.What did Roman parents do different from modern parents?
When a mother was having a kid they were born at the house instead of a hospital. The father would decide if he wanted to keep the child. He could either walk away from the child or stand above it. It was only up to the father whether to keep it or not. After nine days the father would name the child. in ancient Rome the father could also kill his children when ever he wanted.
Are Roman names different from modern names? if so, how?
Woman and men usually had two name their nomen and praenomen. There was not very many first names and the males were usually named after their fathers. The nomen, the last name, usually ended in -ius. The first name was known as the praenomen, there was not many first name choices back then.
Clothing- women
Roman girls wore a toga which was worn over a tunic. The toga was outlined with purple lines. The toga was usually made out of wool. Married women wore a stola. This stola was held to the shoulder by straps. She usually had her hair dressed up and was usually a women would wear a tunic and a scarf. Their hair was always very nicely done.