Children in the Roman Empire

Roman children often seem to be absent from the ancient sources. How did they spend their first years of life? Did they manage to find their way among the various educators, often slaves, who surrounded them from an early age? Was Roman education characterised by loving care or harsh discipline? What was it like to be a slave child? Were paedophilia and child labour accepted and considered 'normal'? This book focuses on all 'forgotten' Roman children: from child emperors to children in the slums of Rome, from young magistrates to little artisans, peasants and mineworkers. The author has managed to trace them down in a wide range of sources: literature and inscriptions, papyri, archaeological finds and ancient iconography. In Roman society, children were considered outsiders. But at the same time they carried within them all the hopes and expectations of the older generation, who wanted them to become full-fledged Romans.

• Offers a broad view of both the reality of children's lives and the concepts of childhood in the Roman Empire
• Includes specific case studies and real-life examples
• Makes use of a wide range of sources: literature, papyri, inscriptions and legal documents, archaeology and osteology, as well as comparative material from demography and anthropology