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The family has been recognised in the ancient world as the key social institution on which both society and the state are based. However, in the pre-Classical and Classical world the family was constructed in dissimilar ways and provides the means to explaining why the civilizations of the ancient Mediterranean, although sharing many cultural features, in fact differed greatly. This volume draws on the most recent work of leading scholars in the field with the aim of establishing a new understanding of the ancient family for the 21st century. In so doing, the book includes new approaches to social institutions, depictions of women and children, the Seleucid dynasty as a negative model of family, the inclusion of Etruscan societies, and a fundamental re-assessment of the family in antiquity.>
About the author
Ray Laurence is Professor of Ancient History at Macquarie University (Sydney, Australia). He has been instrumental in re-thinking and re-conceptualising key areas of Roman history, including urbanism, roads and communications, as well as childhood and the family. His work engages with other disciplines and seeks to move Roman historical research into new areas, such as the cultural history of shopping.
Agneta Stromberg is a senior lecturer in ancient history at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
