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Under Roman law, the paterfamilias (i.e., the eldest adult male of the extended family) had the right to kill any other family member, at his pleasure. He could

Under Roman law, the paterfamilias (i.e., the eldest adult male of the extended family) had the right to kill any other family member, at his pleasure. He could also control who (or even if) they married, sell them into slavery, etc.

morsch 5y ago
"Over time, the absolute authority of the pater familias weakened, and rights that theoretically existed were no longer enforced or insisted upon. The power over life and death was abolished, the right of punishment was moderated and the sale of children was restricted to cases of extreme necessity. Under Emperor Hadrian, a father who killed his son was stripped of both his citizenship and all its attendant rights, had his property confiscated and was permanently exiled." https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pater_familias https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pater_familias
- Turing_Machine 5y ago
  Yeah, it obviously changed over time, and is no longer in effect today. Hadrian was quite late in Roman history, far closer to its collapse than its founding.
  - morsch 5y ago
    German Wikipedia refers to this authority as "closely watched" for abuse by public officials; there being reports of such abuse, but only a few of them; and it being a "mostly symbolic" right. There are fifteen cases of killings known to us, and in almost all of them, the punishment would also have been due to other legal constructs. None of this contradicts anything you said, I'm just adding some context. Roman heads of family obviously weren't habitually killing relatives all the time. https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patria_Potestas https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patria_Potestas
  - tome 5y ago
    > far closer to its collapse than its founding Sorry, this isn't really an important point, but I found it quite implausible so I checked. Hadrian ruled until 165 years after the founding of Rome. It continued for another 257 years. Roman empire: 27 BC – AD 395 (as a unified entity) Hadrian: was Roman emperor from 117 to 138 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadrian https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadrian https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Empire https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Empire
    - int_19h 5y ago
      Roman Empire was a direct continuation of the Roman Republic (indeed, for most people living at the time, they didn't even perceive it as a breaking point). It's certainly not a valid date for the "founding of Rome".
    - Turing_Machine 5y ago
      Rome was around for many centuries before the Roman Empire began. The traditional date for the founding of Rome is 753 BC (while there's no certainty in this date, it's probably not off by very much). It was a kingdom for about 250 years, then a republic for about 500 years, and only then did it become an empire. Rome had been in existence for over 800 years before Hadrian assumed power. Many people don't realize that Rome had a republic and then lost it. Probably more people should know that, and learn about how it happened.
      - morsch 5y ago
        And Rome would endure for another thousand years, give or take, after Hadrian, even if its capital wasn't in Italy anymore...

morsch 5y ago

"Over time, the absolute authority of the pater familias weakened, and rights that theoretically existed were no longer enforced or insisted upon. The power over life and death was abolished, the right of punishment was moderated and the sale of children was restricted to cases of extreme necessity. Under Emperor Hadrian, a father who killed his son was stripped of both his citizenship and all its attendant rights, had his property confiscated and was permanently exiled." https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pater_familias https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pater_familias

Turing_Machine 5y ago
Yeah, it obviously changed over time, and is no longer in effect today. Hadrian was quite late in Roman history, far closer to its collapse than its founding.
- morsch 5y ago
  German Wikipedia refers to this authority as "closely watched" for abuse by public officials; there being reports of such abuse, but only a few of them; and it being a "mostly symbolic" right. There are fifteen cases of killings known to us, and in almost all of them, the punishment would also have been due to other legal constructs. None of this contradicts anything you said, I'm just adding some context. Roman heads of family obviously weren't habitually killing relatives all the time. https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patria_Potestas https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patria_Potestas
- tome 5y ago
  > far closer to its collapse than its founding Sorry, this isn't really an important point, but I found it quite implausible so I checked. Hadrian ruled until 165 years after the founding of Rome. It continued for another 257 years. Roman empire: 27 BC – AD 395 (as a unified entity) Hadrian: was Roman emperor from 117 to 138 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadrian https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadrian https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Empire https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Empire
  - int_19h 5y ago
    Roman Empire was a direct continuation of the Roman Republic (indeed, for most people living at the time, they didn't even perceive it as a breaking point). It's certainly not a valid date for the "founding of Rome".
  - Turing_Machine 5y ago
    Rome was around for many centuries before the Roman Empire began. The traditional date for the founding of Rome is 753 BC (while there's no certainty in this date, it's probably not off by very much). It was a kingdom for about 250 years, then a republic for about 500 years, and only then did it become an empire. Rome had been in existence for over 800 years before Hadrian assumed power. Many people don't realize that Rome had a republic and then lost it. Probably more people should know that, and learn about how it happened.
    - morsch 5y ago
      And Rome would endure for another thousand years, give or take, after Hadrian, even if its capital wasn't in Italy anymore...