Roman Society
The Roman society revolved around the city. Citizens were very social and needed to be more than only educated, so being successful and popular within the community was important. Rome was pretty much a man's world. They had the most power and dominated the household. Men even had the legal right to sell their children to slavery! Women on the other hand had much less power than men, but more rights than women of other cultures at the time. They did not have public rights but they had private rights such as getting a divorce or being the beneficiary of a will. They were valued for being wives and mothers. As mother's they were encouraged to teach their children about Roman culture by educating them from home. After the age of seven, boys were to be taught by their fathers to use weapons, ride, wrestle, and swim.
A roman citizen could either be a patron or client. A patron's job was to protect the client and his family, give legal advice, and help out financially in exchange for a vote from the client or other forms of support. Client-patron relationships could be formed from a former slave and their previous owners, between a landowner and the tenant, or from members of the aristocracy. A client-patron relationship continued on down through generations.
A roman citizen could either be a patron or client. A patron's job was to protect the client and his family, give legal advice, and help out financially in exchange for a vote from the client or other forms of support. Client-patron relationships could be formed from a former slave and their previous owners, between a landowner and the tenant, or from members of the aristocracy. A client-patron relationship continued on down through generations.