Expert: Irulan Serena - 4/17/2005

Question
Hello, Irulan,

Below is the sketch of an excerpt for a book I am working on. It leaves two questions(*) unanswered.

Do you think you could help me with the answers?

"In ancient Rome, patricide was regarded as the worst of all possible crimes. A son convicted of killing his father was first skinned alive. Then he was sewn into a sack with a dog, a snake and a monkey. Still alive, he was then thrown into the Tiber. (That was of course if the offender was a son. God knows what extra terrors were employed if the murderer was a daughter.*)

In the reverse situation, where a father killed a son, the punishment was..."

Regards,
Dan

Answer
Greetings Dan,

Nice to hear from you again!

In the Roman world, the family included everyone within a certain household;  the father of the family, the paterfamilias, the wife (unless she had arranged a marriage by which she still remained a warden of her father), the children and the slaves of the household as well as any other extended family member who lived in the household.

The authority of the paterfamilias was such that in effect only his word counted as absolute law and thus he ruled over all who lived in his household. In theory an adult son could not enter into any form of contract without agreement of his father. In practice however, it would generally be so that the sons, once matured were granted their independence by their father, however this was not always the case so the sons and daughters were viewed as property of the paterfamilias and all were subject to the paterfamilias' orders, edicts, commands and whims.

This was a practice that included all citizens of Rome, rich or poor. It was simply an essential part of the Roman way of life to live surrounded by one's family under the control of the oldest male in the household. This male had control over his children's lives and could if the occasion warranted it, punish or even have them killed for disobedience.  

Although I cannot find an itemized and detailed description of any punishment to a paterfamilias who kills a son or daughter, I can tell you this ….  given what I just explained about the absolute power of the paterfamilias over his children,  had there been a killing of a son or daughter it could have been justified under the law which gave the paterfamilias absolute control over his family.  

Sorry that I cannot be more specific but I have searched and perused and cannot find a definite punishment for the situation you describe.

Regards,

Irulan