The Roman Family By Celeste FarrellPereira 7 2

The Roman Family By Celeste Farrell-Pereira 7 -2

Meet the Family There are four members of the family: Gaius Cornelius—father Aurelia—mother Marcus—son, aged sixteen Cornelia—daughter, aged fourteen A young boy named Sextus lives with the family while his father serves overseas There’s also a Greek slave named Eucleides who helps the parents educate their children

Distinguished Ancestor: Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus A heroic general & the most distinguished member of the Cornelius family Defeated Hannibal and the Carthaginians in the second Punic War in North Africa His daughter, Cornelia, proud mother of the Gracchi brothers— outstanding social reformers— was idealized as the perfect Roman mother and wife

Cornelius’s Responsibilities Master of the house, he is responsible for managing the family estate He legally controls life and death in the household, but never uses this power He is a Roman Senator

Aurelia’s Responsibilities Aurelia directs the household slaves and keeps everything in order She prepares her daughter to run a household of her own once she is married, teaching her spinning & weaving, even though slaves will do most of the work Makes sure her son is educated

Sextus A 12 -year-old boy from Pompeii who lives with the Cornelius family due to his mother’s death in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and his father’s service overseas in Asia Minor

Dress—Cornelius wears a tunic that reaches his knees To represent that he is a senator, wide purple stripes are added to each side of the tunic from his neck down In the city, and for official occasions in the country, Cornelius wears a toga over his tunic A plain toga, or pura (also called the toga virilis, or toga of manhood) High government officials wear a toga praetexta, which has a purple border

Dress—Aurelia Wears a plain white tunic, or tunica, with long sleeves Over the tunic, she wears a stola, a strapped dress without any sleeves that reaches the floor When Aurelia goes outside she adds a palla, a thin piece of cloth hung over the shoulders and down the body It can also be hung from the head

Dress—Marcus wears a tunic that has narrower purple stripes than his father’s His toga, like those of other Roman boys aged 1416, resembles the toga praetexta worn by high officials Around his neck he wears a bulla, which is a necklace with a locket or amulate used to scare off evil He has had it since his father put it around his neck after his birth, and he will continue to wear it till he is of age When he comes of age, he will offer his bulla and scrapings of his first beard shavings to the household Gods, Lares and Penates After this, he will wear the toga virilis

Dress—Cornelia wears a tunic very similar to her brother’s, except it is plain and has no stripes She also wears the toga praetexta Roman girls were not given a bulla to wear

Dress—Family In public, the Cornelius family dressed very formally, even their shoes were fancy When the children played in the villa (country house) and agris (fields), they did not wear their togas They also wore sandals rather than expensive shoes People left a cup of their urine outside of their door at night for a slave to clean the stains out of their togas

Aeneas Members of the family are very proud of their heritage as Cornelii and take pride in it The family, like all Romans, believe they are descended from the great Trojan hero, Aeneas He married the daughter of the king of Latium, and their descendants were known as the Latins

City and Country Life The family lives in Rome In the summer, they stay in their country house south of Rome near the resort town of Baiae They enjoy peace and quiet there and escape the heat This villa overlooks the Bay of Naples and features a courtyard, gardens, cool arbors and fish ponds

Conclusion This family is a wealthy family They own two houses and keep many slaves Even poor Romans kept a slave or two