The Greco-Roman is the ancient Greeks and Romans. They lived in an extended family with one head. The family mostly consisted of the family head, his wife, children, and slaves. The main economic activity was agriculture which was conducted on large plantations and villas; attended by the household slaves. The family head; also called paterfamilias, had full control of the household including the power of granting life or death. Marriage was done to ensure the continuity of the head’s and developing a social relationship among families. Married women gave primary allegiance, not to their marital home but their birth home. Brotherhood was the most valued relationship which discouraged betrayal and conflicts among individuals.
Status was a sensitive area in Roman culture. Class, age, gender and status of individuals was used to rank them into a specific area (Jeffers, 2009). This improved people’s traits since everyone aimed at the highest and by this doing, families gained honor. The head of the household chose a god for the family to worship from the Roman assemblage of Gods who were worshipped on a daily basis. These gods symbolized several virtues. There were several other vital institutions in this society. Romans used this way of living for long till the mid-first century when Rome rose as a republic.
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From then, changes occurred on Rome’s nature by first; expansion of its boundaries through the conquering of the enemies in the reign of Julius Caesar. His empire rose strongly although he was assassinated by people who wished to restore the republic. He was declared as a god, and his place was taken over by his adopted son; Augustus Caesar. He took 15 years to end internal resistance. Caesar became the head of the Empire, and the Romans started worshiping him. This went on until Jesus Christ was born who was the son of God and came to deliver good news.
Family tree
Responsibilities ;
Paterfamilias (head of family): had full control of the household including power of granting life or death.
Paterfamilias wife : offered teachings to the children mostly the girls on how to conduct themselves in marriages.
Children: went to school where they learned how to read and write. Others were trained how to become crafts men, soldiers and farmers.
Free members of the household : Worked on domestic chores
Slaves : worked in plantations
Work Cited
Jeffers, J. S. (2009). The Greco-Roman world of the New Testament era: Exploring the background of early Christianity. InterVarsity Press.
