In ancient Rome, it was legally and socially acceptable for a father to expose (abandon) an unwanted newborn, a practice known as expositio. This was especially common if the baby was a daughter. However, unwanted sons were also sometimes abandoned, mainly if the family was too poor to support another child or if the baby had visible deformities.
How Did Expositio Work?
- Patria Potestas (Father’s Power): Roman fathers had absolute authority (patria potestas) over their children, including the power to accept or reject a newborn.
- Decision at Birth: When a baby was born, it would be placed at the father’s feet. If he picked up the child, it was accepted into the family. If he ignored or turned away, the child was considered rejected.
- Abandonment: Unwanted babies were left in public places, such as trash heaps, marketplaces, or temples. Some were rescued and raised as slaves or prostitutes, while others died from exposure or wild animals.
Who Was Most Commonly Abandoned?
- Girls: Daughters were abandoned more frequently because they required marriage dowries and did not carry on the family name.
- Deformed or Sickly Babies: Any visible deformity was often a death sentence.
- Illegitimate or Poor Families’ Children: If a family could not afford to raise another child, they might leave them to die or be taken in by another household.
Decline of the Practice
- Over time, as Christianity spread, expositio became less accepted. Early Christians condemned the practice and sometimes rescued abandoned infants.
- Emperors like Constantine (4th century AD) introduced laws discouraging child abandonment, though it continued in some forms for centuries.
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