ABSTRACT

The family in Roman society was, both in repute and in reality, the most basic social unit. Within it, its members shared shelter and protection (a theme still existing in the maxim ‘A man’s home is his castle’; cf. 3.1). It was also the basis of social obligations, the means by and through which both status and wealth were essentially transmitted. As a microcosm of society (3.2), it was also held to be fundamental to the survival of the wider society, and not just in demographic terms.