Final Exam Flashcards
Adoption
is a legal act by which a Roman citizen enters another family and comes under the patria potestas of its chief. Since only a paterfamilias could adopt, women could not (except in later law by imperial grant).
Patricia potestas
(Latin: “power of a father”), in Roman family law, power that the male head of a family exercised over his children and his more remote descendants in the male line, whatever their age, as well as over those brought into the family by adoption.
Paterfamilias
was the head of a Roman family. The pater familias was the oldest living male in a household, and exercised autocratic authority over his extended family. Any male who became independent (sui iuris) by being freed from patria potestas became a paterfamilias, even if he were a child too young to be a father. He held legal privilege over the property of the familia, and varying levels of authority over his dependents: these included his wife and children, certain other relatives through blood or adoption, clients, freedmen and slaves. He had a duty to father and raise healthy children as future citizens of Rome, to maintain the moral propriety and well-being of his household, to honour his clan and ancestral gods and to dutifully participate—and if possible, serve—in Rome’s political, religious and social life.
Amphitheatre
for gladiatorial combats, beast hunts, and executions of criminals. generally having much less seating and a proportionately larger arena. a theater lined with banks of seating on all sides, creating an oval floor (the arena) where activities and performances took place
Augures
official Roman diviners. They formed one of the four great colleges of priests
bulla
an amulet worn like a locket, was given to male children in Ancient Rome nine days after birth. … A bulla was worn around the neck as a locket to protect against evil spirits and forces. A bulla was made of differing substances depending upon the wealth of the family.
Campus martius
The Campus Martius was a publicly owned area of ancient Rome about 2 square kilometres (490 acres) in extent. In the Middle Ages, it was the most populous area of Rome.
“field of mars”; an area of originally open, publicly owned ground in the city of rome, where the army mustered and citizens assemblies were held.
cinaedus
a male who was perceived as effeminate and who might be suspected of engaging in homosexual activity as a passive partner
circus maximus
The Circus Maximus is an ancient Roman chariot racing stadium and mass entertainment venue located in Rome, Italy. It was the first and largest stadium in ancient Rome and its later Empire. At a length of more than 600 meters, it could hold more than 150,000 spectators
Concordia
is the goddess who embodies agreement in marriage and society. Her Greek equivalent is usually regarded as Harmonia. An ideal for roman marriage, the term might suggest genuine affection or merely an absence of discord
contubernium
a quasi-martial relationship involving two people (often slaves) without legal capacity to contract legal marriage
cursus honorum
was the sequential order of public offices held by aspiring politicians in both the Roman Republic and the early Roman Empire. It was designed for men of senatorial rank. The cursus honorum comprised a mixture of military and political administration posts. The “sequences of offices”; the regular legally approved order in which magistrates might be held in Roman government (in ascending order, quaestor, praetor, and consul). After 180 BCE minimum ages were established for the holding of each office
class
a division of society according to wealth
concubinage
a sexual relationship between a man and a women in which the intent to marry was absent. could range from short relationships to long term ones, and can include partners of disparate status
conubium
the ability to enter into legal marriage and thereby have legitimate offspring. this power was generally granted by citizenship, minimum age (12 for girls and 14 for boys) and a sufficient degree of genetic separation from the prospective spouse
domus
the “family” ( and the physical house in which it lived), including relatives who were not all under the legal power of the same paterfamilias
epic
a long poem written in hexametric verse that deals with lofty and/ or large-scale subjects, such as warefare, heroic adventure, or history
equestrian
originally, a term applied to a member of the cavalry in the early roman army. The word came to refer more causally to male citizens (but not freed men) whose property was worth 400,000 sesterces
familia
the free and servile member of a roman household who were under the legal power of the paterfamilias
fasces
literally, “bundle”; specifically, the bundle of rods with a protruding axe head carried by the attendants of curule magistrates governors, military commanders with imperium, and perhaps curiously, vestal virgins
gladiators
semi-free professional fighters who competed with each other in numerous different styles of fighting and weaponry
grammaticus
the professional teacher of language and literature, especially poetry
haruspices
a ritual expert skilled in interpreating the apperance of sacrificial animals organs. These organs were interpreted to determine whether the gods deemed the sacrifice acceptable or, in specific circumstances, to ascertain the means of resolving a situation of divine dissatisfaction
honestior
one of the terms that came to describe roman citizen society by at least the second century CE. As members of the senatorial, equestrian, or decurial orders, honestiors enjoyed greater access to the machinery of justice and lighter punishment for crimes than their poorer counterparts, the humiliors
