Social, Political, and Economic Structures of Imperial Rome 95dreds of domestic slaves. Because Romans believed, or
pretended to believe, that the pursuit of wealth and lux-
ury for their own sake was dishonorable, such homes
were meant to fulfill a public function. The atrium, or
courtyard, and the rooms that surrounded it were de-
voted to entertaining and conducting business (see il-
lustration 5.6). The rear of the house with its garden or
gardens provided a retreat for the family.
The senatorial or equestrian families that lived
within derived their wealth primarily from land, though
virtually all engaged in some form of trade or specula-
tion as well. Most therefore owned country villas in ad-
dition to their city property. Cicero, who was not
particularly wealthy, owned eight such residences in
various parts of Italy and visited them according to the
season.
The life of such a man began at dawn, when he was
visited by his clients who came to show their respect,
request favors, or receive his instructions. Most of the
day was devoted to politics, business, or the law courts,
but like Romans of every class, the rich found time for
physical exercise and an elaborate bath before the main
meal of the day. In imperial times, this was usually
taken in the evening and might involve a banquet of
epic proportions. Women sat upright, while the male
guests reclined on couches around a central table andconsumed delicacies brought from specialized farms in
the area around the city. Songbirds, exotic fruits, and
fish grown in special ponds were extremely popular, as
were vintage wines such as the famous Falernian. Excess
was common. Afterward, the guests would return
home, sometimes in coaches or litters, but always ac-
companied by a small army of bodyguards. After dark,
the Roman streets were dangerous.
Moralists seeking a return to the more restrained
attitudes of an earlier time objected to this behavior.
Their complaints had little effect until Augustus began
to support reform as a matter of official policy. Romans
of the late republic and early empire believed in physi-
cal fitness, but they had long since lost Cato’s taste for
simplicity and their attitude toward sex had become re-
markably casual. Homosexuality and bisexuality,
though perhaps not as common as among the Greeks,
were mocked but tolerated even in public figures such
as Julius Caesar. Casual sex of every kind was encour-
aged by the institution of slavery.
Roman women, too, had achieved a level of sexual
and personal freedom that has rarely been equaled be-
fore or since. In the first century B.C. they acquired the
legal right to own and manage their property apart
from that of their husbands. The women of the upper
classes therefore owned slaves and managed estates of
their own. Many were successful businesswomen, and
not a few involved themselves in politics.
Economic independence freed such women from
marital tyranny, and in some cases encouraged both
sexes to seek divorce for political or financial advan-
tage. Among the more prominent families, four or five
marriages in succession were not uncommon, and ex-
tramarital affairs were frequent. No real penalty was
meted out for such behavior, because divorce was re-
garded as a private matter under the laws of the repub-
lic and could be concluded by simple agreement.
Wives in such cases retained their dowries. Tradition
held that adultery was punishable by death, but the
law in question was confusing and had not been en-
forced for generations.
Augustus believed that this situation undermined
traditional Roman virtues and deterred men from mar-
rying, at least in part because they could not control
their wives. Other reasons existed for a precipitous de-
cline in marriage rates among the Roman upper class.
An increasing number of both sexes regarded children
as an expensive nuisance and preferred to remain single,
believing that they could guarantee a far more pleasant
life by surrounding themselves with legacy hunters who
hoped to be included in their wills. Beginning in 18 B.C.IIllustration 5.6
Central Courtyard of a Roman Villa (First Century A.D.)
The homes of wealthy Romans were normally one story in
height and built around a series of courtyards. This one, from
the House of the Vettii in Pompeii, is unusually graceful. It was
preserved in 79 A.D. when the volcano Mt. Vesuvius buried Pom-
peii in volcanic ash, killing most of the city’s twenty thousand
inhabitants.