Discusses ancient Roman civilization, offering information on key figures, politics, culture, and the influence on the modern world.

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How have family relations been regulated through the ages by state institutions and laws? What impact did the advent of Christianity have on marriage? Were parents in the past less emotionally attached to their children? What changes have teken place in legal attitudes and practices toward adultery and "homicides of honor"? How has the position of women in the household altered over the millennia? In this book contributors offer historical and anthropological perspectives on the Western family, focusing on family life in Italy from the Roman EMpire to the present. Using methods that range from symbolic to quantitative analysis, the author discuss a wide variety of topics, including matchmaking, marriage, divorce, inheritance, patterns of household organization, childrearing practices, cultural and legal meanings of death, sexual mores, celibacy (banned in ancient Rome), adoption and property rights. Through its unique combination of chronological sweep and geographical focus, the book aims to shed new light on central questions of continuity, change, and causation in family history.