Child Labour in the Roman World

Abstract

When a son was born to parents of aristocratic status in Rome of the classical period, it can be assumed that the child's early years were spent in relative ease and comfort. By definition, as the boy was educated and groomed to take his eventual place among the ranks of his social peers in the public life of the community, his material needs were automatically met, and economic hardship or deprivation were largely unknown to him. The same was true for a daughter, though practically all she had to look forward to as an adult was marriage to a man of appropriate standing and the bearing of children for him. By contrast, the vast majority of children in Roman society were denied the benefits of upper-class life, and while their early years may also have been a preparation for adulthood, the nature of that process was very different. The purpose of this paper is to examine some of the circumstances under which children

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