Customs: Children & Education in Rome

Question 1

What would happen if a pater familias did not wish to acknowledge a child?

Answer 1

The child would be exposed on the street

Question 2

How long after a Roman boy’s birth would they be named in their dies lustricus?

Answer 2

9 days

Question 3

peculium

Answer 3

a slave’s possessions

Question 4

What is the Roman equivalent of an elementary school teacher?

Answer 4

litterator

Question 5

crepundia

Answer 5

rattle

Question 6

primordia

Answer 6

first eight days of a child’s life

Question 7

pilae

Answer 7

balls

Question 8

What teacher would teach the Greek poets and Greek language along with a wide variety of other subjects?

Answer 8

grammaticus

Question 9

What teacher would teach reading, writing, and arithmetic?

Answer 9

litterator

Question 10

tirocinium

Answer 10

apprenticeship

Question 11

To what gods of the cupboard would a boy dedicate his bulla as part of the Liberalia?

Answer 11

Lares

Question 12

bulla

Answer 12

amulet worn by children to ward off the evil eye (fascinatio)

Question 13

fascinatio

Answer 13

the evil eye

Question 14

What two items made up a boy’s insignia pueritiae which he dedicated during the Liberalia?

Answer 14

His bulla & toga praetexta

Question 15

dies lustricus

Answer 15

naming ceremony after 8 (or 9 days) after a child’s birth?

Question 16

nundinae

Answer 16

market days (no school)

Question 17

susceptio

Answer 17

the pater familias “lifting” up the baby in acknowledging them as his child

Question 18

How long after a Roman girl’s birth would they be named in their dies lustricus?

Answer 18

8 days

Question 19

At what festival would a boy give up his bulla and toga praetexta to officially become a man?

Answer 19

Liberalia

Question 20

cunabula

Answer 20

cradle

Question 21

tali

Answer 21

knucklebones for playing jacks

Question 22

What festival was on March 17th?

Answer 22

Liberalia

Question 23

What toga would a boy wear after giving up his toga praetexta during the Liberalia?

Answer 23

Toga Virilis/Pura/Libera

Question 24

lectica

Answer 24

a litter for carrying a baby (also a litter in general)

Question 25

paedagogus

Answer 25

slave who would accompany child to school (from Greek pais - child & ago - to lead)

Question 26

suasoria

Answer 26

debate class

Question 27

What teacher would teach public speaking?

Answer 27

rhetor