The family and social structure of the ancient Romans.
In short, too complicated.
The Romans were
Extreme hierarchical, frankly, the degree of insanity
Obsessed with class, wealth and image
Extreme patriarchal preference
So let's start with social classes. Now, essentially, there are 3 classes.
These were aristocrats – and there are some similarities to the aristocracy we see throughout the Middle Ages and in Europe today. According to Livy, every aristocratic family was directly related to one of the hundredth senators of the Roman Republic. Some important things to be aware of
The nobility has all the advantages. In elections, their votes were orders of magnitude higher than mine. Moreover, powerful political positions such as consuls could only be held by nobles. Remember, a consul is like a U.S. president with more power. You may see why some reformers have a problem with this system, because only people from highly privileged families can have real power.
Most aristocratic families were political and financial powers with hundreds or thousands of members. Pater familias of a large aristocratic family was a man whose power rivaled that of a consul. However, not every nobleman was dirty and wealthy.
Civilians: Civilians are other people. If you are not a nobleman, you are a commoner.
Civilians can only serve in lower positions, although they can get seats in the Senate and have offices dedicated to civilians, called the "Civilian Forum".
Slaves: There were a lot of slaves in Rome—more than you might think. Now slaves were often freed and then became "free men", which was its own special social class in Rome.
The cultural and social expectation is that you take good care of your slaves. A rotten slave owner would be abused just as we insult rotten pet owners today. That is to say, slaves are property and there is no good life.
So now we've added complexity.
Not everything is equal among civilians. When it comes to civilians, what matters is not your name or family – it's your money.
In fact, some of the richest families in Rome were plebeian families.
Rome has such electoral colleges, but people do not vote according to their position (state), but according to wealth. Every "wealth group" has a certain number of votes.
Stocks: These are the richest people – the richest 0.0001% in Roman society. Given their vast wealth and influence, they were often treated as nobles.
First class: These people are very rich – not very rich, just very rich
Second Class: These people are rich, but otherwise normal
3rd Class: These people are your upper middle class
4th Cass: This will be your true middle class
5th Class: These people will be the lower middle class
Prolitarii: These are urban poor civilians who are more numerous than all 5 "classes" combined.
People here know their classes — they know other people's classes.
Now we talk about family
The Roman family had a leader, Pater Familias. Now, Pete is either the oldest man or the most powerful man in the family. This person has a say in the entire family unit. Now, "family unit" doesn't just mean immediate offspring — it means everyone. Every cousin, aunt, uncle, and great-grandfather has moved twice. It also meant all their spouses, children, retinue, and slaves.
The great nobility and aristocratic families may have more than a thousand members.
Pate's words were final to everything. He arranged marriages, formed alliances, and managed the public affairs of the family. He will decide who in his family will run for political office and which position they will run for.
Whenever a baby is born into a Roman family, the baby is immediately stripped from the mother's arms and presented to Pater Familias. If Pete hugged the child, it was in the family. If Pete had placed the child on the ground, it would have been thrown in the street for the slave traders to pick up.
Now, the dominant fathers' drive spread throughout Rome. If one person calls another "father," that's an honor and crazy compliment.
Finally, let's talk about slaves.
There were a lot of slaves. A middle-class family could have 10 full-time slaves at any one time. Slaves were ubiquitous in Rome and were a central part of Roman life.
The rich flaunt their wealth by showing how many slaves they have, while poor families who can only afford one slave rely on that person to help support their families.
Most urban slaves were freed at some point in their lives. Once freed, they become "free people" and wear black hats that symbolize their status.
At this point, they were technically civilians, but were always seen as a branch.
Now the children of free men are not free men either – they are just considered ordinary civilians.
Interestingly, in the late Empire, Roman citizens scoffed at the idea of working for the Imperial government as administrators— considering it a job "lower than their position." The free men did not care, however, and suddenly the mechanisms of the Roman government were governed by the free men. These freed men soon became very rich and powerful
So how did the Romans live?
Well, they live like you and me.
Get up in the morning, grab a snack, and go to work (whatever the job)
Have a snack at noon and then go take a shower. Wash, socialize, and get back to work
By dusk, everyone is at home for dinner, the only official meal of the day
If it's a day off, maybe you'll spend the day in the bathroom. If it's a holiday, you celebrate. Ironically, modern Americans are a good fit for ancient Rome.
