Lex Scantinia
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The Lex Scantinia is a poorly documented Roman law that penalized stuprum against a freeborn male minor. The primary use of the Lex Scantinia seems to have been harassing political opponents whose lif
Roman boy wearing a bulla, which marked him as sexually off-limits
Marriage in ancient Rome
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Marriage was a fundamental institution of society in ancient Rome and was used by Romans primarily as a tool for interfamilial alliances. The institution of Roman marriage was a practice of marital mo
Roman couple joining hands (dextrarum iunctio); the bride's belt may show the knot symbolizing that the husband was "belted and bound" to her, which he was to untie in their bed (4th century sarcophagus)
Detail of a gold glass medallion with a portrait of a family, from Alexandria (Roman Egypt), 3rd–4th century (Brescia, Museo di Santa Giulia)
Inscription (CIL 14.5326) from Ostia Antica recording a decree that newlyweds are to pray and sacrifice before the altar to the imperial couple Antoninus Pius and Faustina as exemplifying Concordia, marital harmony
A groom encourages his demure bride while a servant looks on; wall painting, Casa della Farnesina in Rome (c. 19 BC)