The Roman Empire exhibited modern social features, particularly in its family structure, gender roles, literacy, and cultural diversity. The nuclear family was prevalent, with adult sons living independently and adult brothers rarely sharing households. Uniquely, slaves were considered part of the family, reflecting Roman social norms. By the late Republic (1st century BCE), marriage allowed women to retain rights over their natal family’s property, remaining primary heirs to their fathers and becoming independent property owners upon their fathers’ deaths. The dowry transferred to the husband during marriage, but women maintained legal independence, making the married couple two separate financial entities. Divorce was straightforward, requiring only a notice of intent from either spouse. However, arranged marriages, an age gap (men married in their late 20s/early 30s, women in their late teens/early 20s), and instances of domestic violence—as noted by Augustine about his mother’s beatings—highlighted gender inequalities. Fathers held significant legal control over children, including the extreme right to expose unwanted infants, leaving them to die.
Literacy varied widely. In Pompeii, buried in 79 CE, casual literacy was widespread, evidenced by advertisements and graffiti on city walls, including humorous inscriptions like one praising a wall for not collapsing under the weight of graffiti. In Egypt, where numerous papyri survive, formal documents were typically written by professional scribes, with many individuals, especially outside specific groups like soldiers or estate managers, unable to read or write. Literacy was more common among certain professions, indicating uneven distribution across the empire.
The empire’s cultural diversity was profound, reflected in its religious cults, languages, dress, food, social organization, and settlement patterns. Languages included Aramaic (dominant in the Near East), Coptic (Egypt), Punic and Berber (North Africa), and Celtic (Spain and northwest). Many were oral until scripts were developed, such as Armenian in the fifth century, while Coptic had a Bible translation by the third century. The spread of Latin displaced some written languages, notably Celtic, which ceased to be written after the first century. This diversity, coupled with the empire’s social and legal structures, underscores its complexity and adaptability.