Roman Family

whether rich or poor the fundamental social unit throughout the empire was the family, and from the early days of the Republic, the existence of the family entirely on the concept of  the male head of the household having the power of life and death over all members of the family and the extended family. He could reject children if they were disfigured, if he questioned their paternity if he had more than one daughter already or merely if he felt so inclined. He could also sell any of his children into slavery. Gradually, over time, this extreme, almost all-powerful, control over one’s family would become less. However, the husband or father did not limit the power of the woman of the house. The home was the domain of the wife. While she was initially restricted from appearing in public, she ran the household and often saw to the education of the children until a tutor could be found. By the end of the Republic, she was even permitted to sit with her husband at dinner,and the baths  although not at the same time as the men, and attend the theater and games. Later, women could be seen working as bakers, pharmacists and shopkeepers and, legally, women’s rights improved, for example, divorce proceedings could be initiated by either the husband or wife.