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Paterfamilias
Originally called by the Latin title of paterfamilias, the father evolved into
the patron of Roman Republican and early Imperial society. The father of the Roman
family had the power over everyone and everything in the home. He could sell his
wife or children into slavery and order their deaths at will. He could extend this
power to his slaves and tenant farmers as well. The Roman father also had the
duties of pietas, or offering proper sacrifices to the household gods at the right times. The
family gods were the lares, or gods of the fields and the penates, or gods of
the household stores and food supply.
The History of Rome - Part One 743 - 136 B.C. © Bible History Online (http://www.bible-history.com) |