Terra cotta urns in the shape of the huts in which people lived were used for burying the ashes of the dead in early Rome. These urns can be used in conjunction with surviving post-holes that held the support posts of early Roman huts on the Palatine Hill to reconstruct the homes of the early Romans. Scala/Art Resource, NY)

them the authority to lead armies, and the auspi-cium, the right to consult the gods.

These foundation legends played an important role in defining Roman identity. They exemplified the Roman willingness to integrate newcomers into their ociety. They also connected Rome to Greek antiquity

and to Greek gods and revealed that the Romans wanted to be part of the broader, civilized Mediter-ranean world and to show the Greeks that they, too, had a distinguished history and were not barbarians.

Even though the legends are based on a core of tru th, they also include many elaborations. Archaeo-logical excavations offer more concrete information about the early history of Rome and demonstrate that the first settlement of the hills of Rome did in fact take place around 750 B.C.E. The presence of two popula-tions is attested by the use of two different burial techniques, cremation, in which bodies were burned, an d inhumation, in which bodies were buried with-out being burned. At first, Rome was jm;t a small 'a rming village of straw huts perched on some of the hills. The southern part of Italy was inhabited by Greeks in the coastal areas and Italian peoples in the up lands. Just north of Rome lived the Etruscans, a people who may have emigrated from the coastal re-gion of Anatolia about 800 B.C.E. In several ways the Etruscans were like the Greeks. They were not uni-fied, and they lived in twelve independent cities

The Deve lopment of Roman Identity, 753- 509 B.C.E. 119

ruled by warrior aristocracies. They had a highly de-veloped economy based on trade and manufacturing, and they were especially expert at metalworking. Much Etruscan trade was with the Greeks; in fact, some of the best-preserved Greek pottery comes from graves in Etruria. The Etruscans used an alphabet adap ted from Greek to write a language that is still undeciphered.

Around 600 B.C.E. , the Etruscans began expanding south and occup ied Rome. The site attracted them be-cause it was strategically positioned at the best cross-ing of the lower Tiber River, providing a means of good communications between northern and south-ern Italy. The Etruscans brought urbanization and civilization to Rome. They d rained the swampy land between the hills and constructed the first paved roads, the firs t stone build ings, and the Forum, or central meeting p lace. They introd uced new occupa-tions, such as trading and pottery manufacturing, and made Rome a commercial center. Their religious practices and version of the Greek alphabet also were adapted by the Romans. Under Etruscan influence, Rome developed from a village into a ci ty.

The Etruscans also provided the last three kings of Rome. Patriotic legends told how the wicked son of the autocratic Etruscan king Tarquin the Proud raped the virtuous Roman matron Lucretia, who then com-mitted suicide for having disgraced her family. An uprising of enraged native Roman aristocrats expelled Tarquin in 509 B.C.E., and the Romans resolved never again to have a kin g. To d o so, in the same year they created the Roman Republic.

What It Meant to Be Roman During the era of the kings the defining elements of Roman character and identity took shape. The Romans were fundamentally conservative and resistant to change. Reverence for the past guided their behavior, which was based on the concept of mos maiorum, "the w ays of the ancestors." When faced with a problem,

auspicium Power of Roman kings and consuls to determine the will of the gods .

Etruscans Inhabitants of northwestern Italy whose culture greatly influenced early Rome.

Forum The center of public life in Rome, with markets, temples, law courts, and the Senate house,

Republic (in Latin, "the public thing") System of gov-ernment introduced by the Romans after the expulsion of kings in 509 B.C-E., based on collegiate rule and rule by law.

they first would ask, What would our ancestors have done? But the Romans were not blindly conservative. They also were very sensible and willing to adapt to changing conditions if circumstances required it. The Romans valued moral qualities such as responsibility, discipline, industry, frugality, temperance, fortitude, and modesty. Except on a very few occasions, such as after a great military victory, they refrained from self-promotion. The greatest Roman virtue was pietas, the sense of duty toward gods, family, friends, and coun-try.Romans did their duty because of religio (from which our word religion is derived), a sense of subor-dination to external forces that included the gods, state officials, and family members. Everyone in Rome was subordinate to some greater authority and th us knew how he or she related to everyone else. Even when Romans pursued their personal ambitions, they always expressed themselves in terms of these trad i-tional Roman values.

Early Roman society was composed mostly of free citizens belonging to three tribes believed to be the descendants of original populations of Latins, Ital-ians, and Etruscans. Citizens enjoyed both p rivate rights, which allowed them to marry, inherit prop-erty, and carryon business under Roman law, and public rights, which permitted male citizens to vote and run for public office. At this time, the p op ulation of foreigners and slaves was small because Rome was not yet very prosperous. Unlike in other ancient soci-eties, the slaves of Roman citizens who w ere set free gained full Roman citizenship rights, p rovid ing an-other example of how the Romans were willing to in-tegrate newcomers into their society.

Even as a city, Rome remained a primarily agrarian society. As some farmers grew m ore successful than others, two social orders evolved: the patricians and the plebeians (or plebs). The patricians w ere the equivalent of the Greek aristocrats; the only w ay to be-come a patrician was by being born one. The patricians owned the best land, and the heads of the patrician families w ere members of the Senate, a hereditary body of about one hundred that originally advised the king. The senators were the most powerful persons in Rome. They saw themselves as preservers of Roman tradition and as models of Roman virtue, which they believed was best exemplified thnmgh military ser-vice. The plebeians, on the other hand, were mostly farmers, working either their own smaIl plots or land that belonged to the patricians. As a result of the ex-pansion in commerce and manufacturing under the Etruscans, some plebeians became very wealthy, but even so they could not enter the hereditary patrician class. At the other extreme, plebeians who defaulted on loans could be sold into slavery.

:,

The Development of Roman Identity, 753- 509 B.C.E. 121

Roman social relations revolved around the idea of bilateral (two-way) duty that was viewed in terms of contractual commitments. If someone did a Roman a favor, the Roman w as obligated to that person un til the fa vor had been repaid. This practice lay behind one of Rome's most important social institutions, the patron-client relationship, in w hich persons owed services to each other and were bound together in an almost religious union. At this time, the patrons w ere usually patricians, who would have many plebeians as their clients. A patrician patron provided physical protection, civil and criminal legal services, and eco-nomic support, including foodstu ffs, seed grain, and even land to rent when times were tough. In return, the plebeian client accompanied the p atrician in time of war (the patricians did most of the actual fighting), helped to raise a ransom if he should be cap tured, and contributed to a dowry when a patrician's daugh ter was married. This system of reciprocal responsibility knit Roman society together in a way that Greek soci-ety was not, with the result that Romans were much less likely to resort to violence against each other when disputes arose. The system also was designed to preserve the position and privileges of the patricians.

Early Roman Religion Religious beliefs and practices were deeply embed-ded in early Roman society, culture, and p olitics. Much of the Romans' sense of subordin ation to a greater pow er derived from their religion. The Ro-m ans believed that their m ost ancient religious insti-tu tions h ad been established by Numa, the second king of Rom e. But the Romans also adopted other re-ligious practices from the Etruscans and the Greeks. Roman religion was p olytheistic, with many gods who took many forms. Some gods looked after the welfare of the state as a whole, and others were con-cerned w ith Roman private life. The earliest Roman gods were numina, vague and sh apeless forces of

patricians The most privileged of the early Roman citizens, equivalent to aristocrats.

plebeians (or plebs) The less privileged of the early Roman citizens; later, the generic term for Roman citizens.

Senate Primary governing body of the Roman Repub-lic; its members were senators.

patron-client relationship The rendering of m utual services between a senior party (a patron) and a junior party (the client).

numina (sing. nu men) Formless forces of nature th at controlled the natural environment.

122 CHAPTER 5 The Rise of Rome, 753-27 B.C .E .

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nature that controlled the environment. The numen Janus, for example, who could be visualized with two faces pointing in opposite directions, was in charge of comings and goings and beginnings and endings. Each family had its own household gods, known as Lares, who looked after the well-being of the family, and Penates, who ensured that the storeroom was never empty. The Manes w ere spirits of beloved ances-tors. The Lemures, on the other hand, were restless spir-its of the dead who had to be placated every May with an offering of black beans. It was said that Romulus had begun this festival to pacify the spirit of Remus.

The Romans' social values were mirrored in their religious convictions. They believed that deities, too, had duties to perform, and they attempted to force the gods to do their duties by making ritualized con-tracts with them. Thus, each year a red dog was sacri-ficed at a crossroads to ensure that the numen RobigusI I I did his duty and kept the red leaf blight from infect-

Etruscan fears about the afterlife are reflected in this scene from an Etruscan tomb of ca. 300 B.C.E. depicting the execution of Trojan captives during the Trojan War to placate the ghosts of the dead. The underworld demons Charu (Greek Charon), who will hit the deceased wi th his hammer, and his w inged female companion Vanth wait to escort the dead man to the underworld (From Massimo Pailoltino, The Great Centuries of Painting: Etruscan Painting [Milan: Skim Editore). Courtesy, Princely House oj Tor/onia, Rome) .

ing the crops. Religious rituals were marked by com-pulsive attention to detail. The slightest deviation from a ri tu al, such as a sneeze or whisper, would neu-tralize its effec tiveness. The greatest personal sacri-fice that an individual Roman could make was the ritual called devotion. When a Roman battle was go-ing badly, a Roman commander sometimes devoted himself to the gods and then committed suicide by charging into the enemy ranks. His men then re-gained confidence in the belief that the gods woul d fulfill their part of the bargain by granting victory.

As a consequence of their contacts with the Etrus-cans and Greeks, the also began to worship anthropom orphic gods and goddesses in permanen t stone temples. Thus, Jupiter, along with being the formless numen of lightning and thunder, also could be visualized as a bearded man throwing a lightning bolt. In the course of creating Rome as a city, the Etrus-cans built several temples in the area of the Forum.

-:he most important was a three-chambered temple n top of the Capitoline Hill, the highest hill in orne, where it could be seen from far out in the

--un tryside. This was the temple of the gods who ked after the welfare of the Roman state: Jupiter

e Best and Greatest; his wife, Juno; and Minerva, a goddess-the Roman equivalents of the Greek

Zeus, Hera, and Athena. The temple served as an portant symbol of Roman power and authority.

:7acrifices of oxen and other animals were made in .:hange for the gods' support of the well-being of .e Roman people. -tate priests saw to it that the government func-ned according to religious law and that the pax de-"1' ("peace of the gods") was maintained between gods and the Roman people. The most important

;nan priest was the pontifex maximlls, who was in rge of other state priests and priestesses, includ-

::: me vestal virgins, who kept the sacred hearth fire -he goddess Vesta burning in the Forum. The pon-_lIlnximus also kept oHiciallists of government of-

and of important events and controlled the end ar, every so often adding an extra month after ruary to keep the months synchronized with the --ns because the year as established by King ;na w as 10 days short of a 365-day solar year. {any Roman religious rituals were borrowed . the Etruscans, who used divination to discover ',·ill of the gods. Etruscan priests observed flights

_ irds and examined sheep livers, looking for good .:-ad omens. Roman state priests used the same rit-;; [Q discover whether the decisions of the Roman cmment had the support of the gods. If the priests

bad omens, government business could not -eed. Etruscan religious practices also found their

into Roman private life. Etruscan funeral cere-, which included wrestling matches, combats

.e death, and human sacrifices intended to placate demons of the underworld, evolved into Roman

atorial matches.

man Family Life an society was very family oriented. In early e, e\-ery Roman citizen belonged to a gens, or and bore a clan name ending in -ius or -ia, such

..ilius for men or Julia for women. Shortly after Roman infants also received a first name. The

- names of boys came from a standard list of ::--two names, such as Marcus or Gaius. Certain

. lames ran in the family, so someone named Mar-:-ullius probably had a father and grandfather nam ed Marcus Tullius. Female children, on the

:- hand, were simply identified by sequence num-

The Development of Roman Identity, 753- 509 B.C.E. 123

bers. Thus the second daughter of a Marcus Julius would be Julia Secunda. Romans also had a third name identifying their family, a subset of a clan. Fam-ily names often referred to a physical characteristic of a distant ancestor, such as Caesar ("hairy"). Thus, a Roman citizen had three names, for example, Gaius Julius Caesar. Senators were extremely proud of their heritage. The foyers of their houses contained wax portraits of ancestors that were paraded during fu-nerals. Roman fathers expected to have a son to carry on the family name and inherit the family property. If a man had no natural sons, a son could be brought into the family by adoption.

The concept of subordination to a greater author-ity carried over into Roman family life. The chief au-thority within each nuclear family (a father and all of his dependents) was the paterfamilias, who had life-and-death power over the household. A newborn baby was placed at the feet of its father; if he refused to pick it up, the infant was exposed and left to die. The father had the legal authority to execute any of those in his power as long as the cause (such as a vio-lation of family or national honor) warranted doing so. In one legendary case, a Roman general executed his son, who had just won a battle, for disobeying or-ders; he was praised for putting loyalty to Rome be-fore loyalty to his family. It was possible for a young man to become a paterfamilias in his own right if his father pretended to sell him as a slave three times and then set him free. Most men, however, simply waited for their fathers to die before becoming free of pater-nal authority.

Girls were permitted to marry young, and some were wed as young as age twelve, often to much older men. Men generally waited unti l a later age, around thirty. For a Roman marriage to be legally valid, the two parties both had to be Roman citizens . Marriages between Romans and foreigners or Ro-mans and slaves did not convey any legal rights to

Capitoline Hill The tallest hill in Rome, site of the Capitoline temple of Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva.

Jupiter the Best and Greatest Most important Roman state god.

pontifex maximus (Latin for "the greatest bridge builder") An ancient title for the chief priest of Rome.

gladiator (Latin for "sword bearer," from Latin gladius. "sword") A person, usually a slave, who fought in an arena against animals or other gladiators for the enter- tainment of the audience.

paterfamilias (Latin for "father of the family") Head of a Roman family, with life-and-death power over family members.

124 CHAPTER 5 The Rise of Rome, 753-27 B.C.E.

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Roman senators were extremely proud of their ancestors, who provided models of how good l{omans should behave. In this statue of the firs t century C.E., a senator carries b usts of his ancestors that would have been displayed in the foyer of his house and paraded during funerals of family members. (Scala/A rt Resource, N Y )

II

offspring, w hereas children of married Roman citi-zens also were citizens. Marriage was a private mat-ter between two consenting persons who agreed to treat a relationship as a marriage. No legal or reli-gious ceremonies were required, although a wed -ding feast often was held as a means of p ublicizing the union, and the parents of girl s u sually provided a dowry. In a type of marriage common at the begin-ning of the Republic, called purchase, a fa ther ficti-tiously sold his daughter to her husband, who then assumed authority over her. But as time w ent on, an-other type of marriage, called usage, became more popular. The wife remained under her father's au-thority as long as she spent three nights away from

her husband's house each year. In this kind of mar-riage, a woman came under her own authority when her father died, although even then she needed a co-operative male guardian to carry out any business, such as buying property or making a will, on her be-half. Either party in a marriage could obtain a divorce simply by dedaring "I divorce you" three times be-fore a witness. It was only in the matter of the dis-position of property that fault was considered. For example, if a divorce occurred by mutual consent or if a husband declared a divorce without cause, the hus-band was required to return the entire dowry- a con-sideration that inhibited men from seeking divorce. But if the wife was guilty of adultery, the husband could keep one-sixth of the dowry. Any children went to the father, and a divorced mother had no right even to see them again.

Children in early Rome w ere educated mainly in the home by mothers and fathers, who shared the re-sponsibility equally. Boys were instructed in law and history and engaged in physical training that would prepare them for military life. Girls learned house-hold economy and were taught to perform the most virtuous feminine activity of all: spinning wool to make the family's clothing. Mothers instilled Roman virtues, such as reverence for the gods and respect for authority. Fathers took their sons along on their daily round of business activities and public life. In senato-rial families, mothers and fathers both were responsi-ble for forwarding the careers of their sons and for securing good marriages for their daughters.

Roman women were expected to be modest, obedi-ent, and loyal. The primary duty of a married woman was to bear children. Poor women in particular were expected to have as many children as possible-often ten or more-to ensure that at least some of them, given the high infant mortality rate, survived to ma-turity. Many women died in childbirth. A Roman gravestone, for example, tells of a woman named Ve-turia, who was married at eleven, bore six children (only one lived), and died at twenty-seven. Women's duties also included supervising any household slaves and overseeing domestic activities such as cooking, clothing production, and child care. Plebeian women who were not fully occupied at home could help sup-port themselves and their families by working in a senatorial household; in the clothing industry; in ser-vice positions, such as hairdressers, masseuses, mid-wives, maids, and wet nurses; or as entertainers, such as dancers and prostitutes. In several regards, Roman women had greater liberties and responsibilities than their Greek counterparts. Roman women regularly appeared outside the home, with or without their husbands, engaging in such activities as visiting the

D

lic baths and attending religious ceremonies and er parties.

---:...e most honored Roman women were the six tal virgins, who also were the only women com-ely free of male legal authority. They were permit-

- ·0 manage their own property and make wills in own names. Girls became vestals before the age

-d) and served for thirty years. After they retired, . were permitted to marry, but many continued to

-·e the goddess and to keep their legal indepen-ceo Because the welfare of the state was tied to the

-::als' purity, those convicted of being unchaste were -enced to the horrible fate of being buried alive.

e Evolution of the Roman epublic, 509-146 S.C.E.

ow was the collective will of the Roman people ex· _-"ssed in Roman government?

hy were the Romans initially reluctant to create empi re?

-er the expulsion of the kings, the Romans created Roman Republic, a system of government based the sharing of power among several magistrates -cials) . The Roman people were governed by the e of law, which represented the collective will of people. During the early Republic, a nonviolent

mllct arose between the patricians, who monopo-eel economic and political influence, and the pIe-

s, who wished to gain greater self-expression. By early third century B.C.E., the Senate, the primary

body of Rome, included both patricians influential plebeians. The Senate guided Rome

rough many wars, first in Italy and then through-- the Mediterranean world. At first, the only goal of 5e wars was to weaken potential enemies, an d the mans were reluctant to assume responsibility for

-min istering foreign territory. But during the sec-d century B.C.E., the Romans took direct control er foreign territories, known as provinces. By 146

C. E. Rome had become the strongest power in the 'eel iterranean world.

oman Republican Govern'ment e Roman monarchy was superseded by the Repub-a government based on the concept of collegial-

, in which offices and responsibilities were shared y the members of the Senate, which now became the ost important governing body in Rome. The king,

-or example, was replaced by two consuls, who were rec ted by the people every year. Like the king, the

The Evolution of the Roman Republic, 509-146 B.C.E. 125

consuls had the powers of imperium and auspicium. They had the right to introduce laws, oversee the ad-ministration of justice, and name new senators. But the primary duty of the consuls was to lead the Ro-man legions in war. The greatest honor that a senator could receive was to be granted a ceremony called a triumph after a milita ry victory during his term as consul. The consul, with his face painted red like the god Jupiter, led a procession of cheering soldiers and pitiful captives through the streets of Rome and up to the temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline Hill. Only in grave emergencies did the Romans return to a very restricted form of one-man rule. In such cases the consuls would appoint a dictator, the highest ranking of all magistrates. But there were severe limitations on the dictator's authority: he could serve only until the crisis was over and n ever for more than six months.

Over time, other lower-ranking officials, elected by the people, also were introduced. These included, in descending rank, two praetors, who were the chief le-gal officials; four aediles, who managed the markets, streets, and public buildings; and six quaestors, who oversaw state finances. In addition, every five years, two censors, who ranked even higher than the con-suls, were elected. They served for eighteen months, and their duties included assessing property for taxa-tion purposes (the census) and appointing new mem-bers to the Senate. Because all Roman magistrates except the dictators served in groups of two or more, it was crucially important for the smooth operation of the government that they get along with each other. Table 5.1 provides a listing of the most important offi-cials in the Roman Republic.

The Republican government operated according to a constitution that was a combination of customary practices and unwritten law. Supreme authority lay with the people, whose will was expressed by the votes of assemblies to which all male citiz ens belonged. The assemblies elected all officials except the dictators and voted on declarations of war, trials involving the death penalty, and laws regulating everyday Roman

collegiality Shared responsibility for the same office. consul Highest-ranking annual Roman official, whose

primary duty was to lead the army. legion Largest unit of the Roman army, roughly 5,000

men. triumph Victory ceremony given to a Roman general

who had won a great victory. census Assessment of property carried out by the

censors for taxation purposes.