Ancient History Magazine

ROMAN MARRIAGE

LIVING LIKE AN ANCIENT THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE BONDS BETWEEN FAMILIES

After marrying his ward, Publilia, the Roman orator Cicero was accused of going soppy. Yet, he defended himself by pointing out that the actual reason for the marriage was that he needed the money from her dowry. Love was not a suitable motivation to marry, but wealth was.

A family affair

Consider the engagement of a Roman couple as described by the biographer Plutarch (Tiberius Gracchus 4):

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