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The ''pater familias'', also written as ''paterfamilias'' (plural ''patres familias''), was the head of a Roman family. The ''pater familias'' was the oldest living male in a household. He had complete control of all family members. The term is Latin for "father of the family" or the "owner of the family estate". The form is archaic in Latin, preserving the old genitive ending in (see Latin declension), whereas in classical Latin the normal genitive ending was . The ''pater familias'' was always a Roman citizen. Roman law and tradition (''mos maiorum'') established the power of the ''pater familias'' within the community of his own extended ''familia''. He held legal privilege over the property of the ''familia'', and varying levels of authority over his dependents: these included his wife and children, certain other relatives through blood or adoption, clients, freedmen and slaves. The same ''mos maiorum'' moderated his authority and determined his responsibilities to his own ''familia'' and to the broader community. He had a duty to father and raise healthy children as future citizens of Rome, to maintain the moral propriety and well-being of his household, to honour his clan and ancestral gods and to dutifully participate—and if possible, serve—in Rome's political, religious and social life. In effect, the ''pater familias'' was expected to be a good citizen. In theory at least, he held powers of life and death over every member of his extended ''familia'' through ancient right but in practice, the extreme form of this right was seldom exercised. It was eventually limited by law.〔Severy, 9–10.〕 ==The Roman ''familia''== The Roman household was conceived of as an economic and juridical unit or estate: ''familia'' originally meant the group of the ''famuli'' (the ''servi'' or serfs and slaves of a rural estate) living under the same roof. This meaning later expanded to indicate the ''familia'' as the basic Roman social unit, which might include the ''domus'' (house or home) but was legally distinct from it—a ''familia'' might own one or several homes. All members and properties of a ''familia'' were subject to the authority of a ''pater familias'': his legal, social and religious position defined ''familia'' as a microcosm of the Roman state.〔Frier ''et al.'', 18–20, for ''familia'' case-law definitions (Ulpian) and relations during and before the Imperial period. Limited preview available via Google Books ()〕 In Roman law, the ''potestas'' of the ''pater familias'' was official but distinct from that of magistrates. Only a Roman citizen held the status of ''pater familias'' and there could only be one holder of the office within a household. He was responsible for its well-being, reputation and legal and moral propriety. The entire ''familia'' was expected to adhere to the core principles and laws of the Twelve Tables, which the ''pater familias'' had a duty to exemplify, enjoin and if necessary enforce, so within the ''familia'' Republican law and tradition (''mos maiorum'') allowed him powers of life and death (''vitae necisque potestas''). He was also obliged to observe the constraints imposed by Roman custom and law on all ''potestas''. His decisions should be obtained through counsel, consultation and consent within the familia—these were decisions by committee (''consilium''). These family ''consilia'' probably involved the most senior members of his own household—especially his wife—and if necessary his peers and seniors within his extended clan (''gens'').〔Parkin & Pomeroy, 72–80. Limited preview available via Google Books () (accessed 24 September 2009)〕 Augustus' legislation on the morality of marriage co-opted the traditional ''potestas'' of the ''pater familias''. Augustus was not only Rome's ''princeps''—he was its father (''pater patriae'') and as such was responsible for the entire Roman ''familia''. Rome's survival required that citizens produce children. This could not be left to individual conscience—the falling birthrate was a marker of degeneracy and self-indulgence, particularly among the elite who were supposed to set an example. The Augustan ''Lex Julia maritandis ordinibus'' compelled marriage upon men and women within specified age ranges, and remarriage on the divorced and bereaved within certain time limits. The ''Lex Julia de adulteriis coercendis'' severely penalised adulterous wives and any husbands who tolerated such behaviour. The ''Lex Papia Poppaea'' extended and modified these laws in relation to intermarriage between social classes and inheritance. Compliance was rewarded and exceptional public duty brought exemption but dictatorial compulsion was deeply unpopular and quite impractical. The laws were later softened in theory and practise, but the Imperial ''quaestio perpetua'' remained. Its public magistrates now legally over-rode the traditional rights of the family ''concilium'' and ''pater familias''. The principate shows a clear trend towards the erosion of individual ''patria potestas'' and the increasing intrusion of the state into the juridical and executive independence of the ''familia'' under its ''pater''.〔Galinsky, 130–2. Augustus couched these and similar changes as a restoration of traditional values—in one debate, he reiterated a "misogynistic" address of 131 BCE by the censor Metellus Macedonicus on marriage as necessary to Rome's survival. Limited preview via Google Books: ()〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Pater familias」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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