ABSTRACT

The abandonment of newborn infants (called “exposure” from the Latin expositio, “placing out”) has long been the subject of scholarly discussion. In the later empire there is a significant amount of source material for infant exposure, especially from both legal and Christian perspectives. Emperors from Constantine to Justinian attempted to restrict and penalize the practice, in contrast to earlier Roman law. And Christian apologists denounced the heartlessness of pagan parents who abandoned the fruits of their own sexual activity. This paper looks at the intersection of these imperial and ecclesiastical attitudes toward infant exposure and at the role of the church and of individual Christians in shaping imperial attitudes and responses.