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The ''mos maiorum'' (; "ancestral custom" or "way of the ancestors," plural ''mores'', cf. English "
mores
Mores (, sometimes ; , plural form of singular , meaning "manner, custom, usage, or habit") are social norms that are widely observed within a particular society or culture. Mores determine what is considered morally acceptable or unacceptable ...
"; ''maiorum'' is the
genitive
In grammar, the genitive case (abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can al ...
plural of "greater" or "elder") is the unwritten code from which the
ancient Romans
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom ...
derived their
social norm
Social norms are shared standards of acceptance, acceptable behavior by groups. Social norms can both be informal understandings that govern the behavior of members of a society, as well as be codified into wikt:rule, rules and laws. Social normat ...
s. It is the core concept of Roman traditionalism, distinguished from but in dynamic complement to
written law
The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...
. The ''mos maiorum'' was collectively the time-honoured principles, behavioural models, and social practices that affected private, political, and military life in ancient Rome.
Family and society
The Roman family (the ''
familia'', better translated as "household" than "family") was hierarchical, as was
Roman society
The culture of ancient Rome existed throughout the almost 1200-year history of the civilization of Ancient Rome. The term refers to the culture of the Roman Republic, later the Roman Empire, which at its peak covered an area from present-day Lo ...
. These hierarchies were traditional and self-perpetuating, that is, they supported and were supported by the ''mos maiorum''. The ''
pater familias
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, and could legally exercise autocratic authority over his ext ...
'', or head of household, held absolute authority over his ''familia'', which was both an autonomous unit within society and a model for the social order, but he was expected to exercise this power with moderation and to act responsibly on behalf of his family. The risk and pressure of social censure if he failed to live up to expectations was also a form of ''mos''.
The distinctive social relationship of ancient Rome was that between
patron ''(patronus)'' and client ''(cliens)''. Although the obligations of this relationship were mutual, they were also hierarchical. The relationship was not a unit, but a network ''(clientela)'', as a ''patronus'' might himself be obligated to someone of higher status or greater power, and a ''cliens'' might have more than one patron, whose interests might come into conflict. If the ''familia'' was the discrete unit underlying society, these interlocking networks countered that autonomy and created the bonds that made a complex society possible. Although one of the major spheres of activity within patron-client relations was the law courts, patronage was not itself a legal contract; the pressures to uphold one's obligations were moral, founded on the quality of ''fides'', "trust" (see
Values
In ethics and social sciences, value denotes the degree of importance of something or action, with the aim of determining which actions are best to do or what way is best to live (normative ethics in ethics), or to describe the significance of dif ...
below), and the ''mos''. Patronage served as a model when conquerors or
governors
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...
abroad established personal ties as patron to whole communities, ties which then might be perpetuated as a family obligation. In this sense, ''mos'' becomes less a matter of unchanging tradition than precedent.
Tradition and evolution
Roman conservatism finds succinct expression in an edict of the
censors
Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...
from 92 BC, as preserved by the 2nd-century historian
Suetonius
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; c. AD 69 – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire.
His most important surviving work is a set of biographies ...
: "All new that is done contrary to the usage and customs of our ancestors, seems not to be right." However, because the ''mos maiorum'' was a matter of custom, not written law, the complex norms that it embodied evolved over time. The ability to preserve a strongly-centralised sense of identity while it adapted to changing circumstances permitted the expansionism that took Rome from city-state to world power. The preservation of the ''mos maiorum'' depended on consensus and moderation among the ruling elite whose competition for power and status threatened it.
Democratic politics, driven by the charismatic appeal of individuals ''(
populares
Optimates (; Latin for "best ones", ) and populares (; Latin for "supporters of the people", ) are labels applied to politicians, political groups, traditions, strategies, or ideologies in the late Roman Republic. There is "heated academic dis ...
)'' to the
Roman people ''(populus)'', potentially undermined the conservative principle of the ''mos''. Because the
higher magistracies and priesthoods were originally the prerogative of the
patricians
The patricians (from la, Wikt:patricius, patricius, Greek language, Greek: πατρίκιος) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom, and the early Roman Rep ...
, the efforts of
plebeians
In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words " commoners". Both classes were hereditary.
Etymology
The precise origins of ...
(the ''plebs'') for access could be cast as a threat to tradition (see
Conflict of the Orders
The Conflict of the Orders, sometimes referred to as the Struggle of the Orders, was a political struggle between the plebeians (commoners) and patricians (aristocrats) of the ancient Roman Republic lasting from 500 BC to 287 BC in which the plebe ...
). Reform was accomplished by legislation, and written law replaced consensus. When plebeians gained admission to nearly all the highest offices, except for a few arcane priesthoods, the interests of plebeian families who ascended to the elite began to align with those of the patricians, creating Rome's ''
nobiles
The ''nobiles'' ( ''nobilis'') were members of a social rank in the Roman Republic indicating that one was "well known". This may have changed over time: in Cicero's time, one was notable if one descended from a person who had been elected Roman c ...
'', an elite social status of nebulous definition during the
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kin ...
. The ''plebs'' and their support of popular politicians continued as a threat to the ''mos'' and elite consensus into the late Republic, as noted in the rhetoric of
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...
.
During the transition to the Christian Empire,
Quintus Aurelius Symmachus
Quintus Aurelius Symmachus signo Eusebius (, ; c. 345 – 402) was a Roman statesman, orator, and man of letters. He held the offices of governor of proconsular Africa in 373, urban prefect of Rome in 384 and 385, and consul in 391. Symmachus s ...
argued that Rome's continued prosperity and stability depended on preserving the ''mos maiorum'', and the
early Christian
Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewish d ...
poet
Prudentius
Aurelius Prudentius Clemens () was a Roman citizen, Roman Christianity, Christian poet, born in the Roman Empire, Roman province of Tarraconensis (now Northern Spain) in 348.H. J. Rose, ''A Handbook of Classical Literature'' (1967) p. 508 He prob ...
dismissed the conservative adherence to native Roman traditions as "the superstition of old grandpas" ''(
superstitio
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...
veterum avorum)'' and inferior to the new
revealed truth
In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities.
Background
Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...
of Christianity.
After the final
collapse of the Western Roman Empire
The fall of the Western Roman Empire (also called the fall of the Roman Empire or the fall of Rome) was the loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire, a process in which the Empire failed to enforce its rule, and its vas ...
in 476 AD and ascension of the various
Barbarian kingdoms
The barbarian kingdoms, also known as the post-Roman kingdoms, the western kingdoms or the early medieval kingdoms, were the states founded by various non-Roman, primarily Germanic, peoples in Western Europe and North Africa following the collap ...
, the old Roman mores were then either superseded by or synthesized with the traditions of the
Germanic elite and subsequent
feudal
Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a wa ...
values.
Values
Traditional Roman values were essential to the ''mos maiorum'':
''Fides''
*The Latin word ''fides'' encompasses several English words, such as trust/trustworthiness,
good faith
In human interactions, good faith ( la, bona fides) is a sincere intention to be fair, open, and honest, regardless of the outcome of the interaction. Some Latin phrases have lost their literal meaning over centuries, but that is not the case ...
/faithfulness, confidence, reliability and credibility. It was an important concept in
Roman law
Roman law is the law, legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (c. 449 BC), to the ''Corpus Juris Civilis'' (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor J ...
, as oral contracts were common. The concept of ''fides'' was
personified
Personification occurs when a thing or abstraction is represented as a person, in literature or art, as a type of anthropomorphic metaphor. The type of personification discussed here excludes passing literary effects such as "Shadows hold their ...
by the goddess
Fides
Fides or FIDES may refer to:
*Faith, trust, loyalty, or fidelity, or a religious belief
* Fides (cycling team), an Italian professional cycling team in 1961
*Fides (deity), goddess of trust in Roman mythology
* Fides (reliability), guide allowing ...
whose role in the ''mos maiorum'' is indicated by the history of her cult. Her temple is dated from around 254 BC and was located on the
Capitoline Hill
The Capitolium or Capitoline Hill ( ; it, Campidoglio ; la, Mons Capitolinus ), between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the Seven Hills of Rome.
The hill was earlier known as ''Mons Saturnius'', dedicated to the god Saturn. Th ...
in Rome, near the
Temple of Jupiter.
''Pietas''
*''
Pietas
''Pietas'' (), translated variously as "duty", "religiosity" or "religious behavior", "loyalty", "devotion", or "filial piety" (English "piety" derives from the Latin), was one of the chief virtues among the ancient Romans. It was the distingui ...
'' was the Roman attitude of dutiful respect towards the gods, homeland, parents and family, which required the maintenance of relationships in a moral and dutiful manner. Cicero defined ''pietas'' as "justice towards the gods.” It went beyond sacrifice and correct ritual performance to inner devotion and righteousness of the individual, and it was the cardinal virtue of the Roman hero
Aeneas
In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas (, ; from ) was a Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both being grandsons ...
in
Vergil
Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...
's ''
Aeneid
The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan_War#Sack_of_Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to ...
''. The use of the adjectival form ''Pius'' as a
cognomen
A ''cognomen'' (; plural ''cognomina''; from ''con-'' "together with" and ''(g)nomen'' "name") was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. Initially, it was a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became here ...
reflects its importance as an identifying trait. Like ''Fides'', ''
Pietas
''Pietas'' (), translated variously as "duty", "religiosity" or "religious behavior", "loyalty", "devotion", or "filial piety" (English "piety" derives from the Latin), was one of the chief virtues among the ancient Romans. It was the distingui ...
'' was cultivated as a goddess, with a temple vowed to her in 191 BC and dedicated ten years later.
''Religio'' and ''Cultus''
*Related to the Latin verb ''religare'', "to bind", ''
religio
The Latin term ''religiō'', the origin of the modern lexeme ''religion'' (via Old French/ Middle Latin), is of ultimately obscure etymology. It is recorded beginning in the 1st century BC, i.e. in Classical Latin at the end of the Roman Republ ...
'' was the bond between gods and mortals, as carried out in traditional religious practices for preserving the ''
pax deorum
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence o ...
'' (“peace of the gods”). ''
Cultus Cultus may refer to:
*Cult (religious practice)
* ''Cultus'' (stonefly), a genus of stoneflies
* Cultus Bay, a bay in Washington
* Cultus Lake (disambiguation)
*Cultus River
The Cultus River is a stream in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in Desc ...
'' was the active observance and the correct performance of rituals. Religious practice, in this sense, is to be distinguished from ''pietas'' and its inherent morality. See
religion in ancient Rome
Religion in ancient Rome consisted of varying imperial and provincial religious practices, which were followed both by the people of Rome as well as those who were brought under its rule.
The Romans thought of themselves as highly religious, ...
and
imperial cult (ancient Rome)
The Roman imperial cult identified Roman emperor, emperors and some members of their families with the Divine right of kings, divinely sanctioned authority (''auctoritas'') of the Roman State. Its framework was based on Roman and Greek precedents ...
.
''Disciplina''
*The military character of Roman society suggests the importance of ''disciplina'', as related to education, training, discipline and self-control.
''Gravitas'' and ''constantia''
*''
Gravitas
''Gravitas'' () was one of the ancient Roman virtues that denoted "seriousness". It is also translated variously as weight, dignity, and importance and connotes restraint and moral rigor. It also conveys a sense of responsibility and commitment ...
'' was dignified self-control. ''Constantia'' was steadiness or perseverance. In the face of adversity, a good Roman was to display an unperturbed façade. Roman myth and history reinforced this value by recounting tales of figures such as
Gaius Mucius Scaevola
Gaius Mucius Cordus, better known with his later cognomen Scaevola ( , ), was an ancient Roman youth, possibly mythical, famous for his bravery.
In 508 BC, during the war between Rome and Clusium, the Clusian king Lars Porsena laid siege to Rom ...
, who in a founding legend of the Republic demonstrated his seriousness and determination to the Etruscan king
Lars Porsenna
Lars Porsena (or Porsenna; Etruscan: ) was an Etruscan king (lar) known for his war against the city of Rome. He ruled over the city of Clusium (Etruscan: ; modern Chiusi). There are no established dates for his rule, but Roman sources often plac ...
by holding his right hand in a fire.
''Virtus''
*Derived from the Latin word ''vir'' ("man"), ''
virtus
''Virtus'' () was a specific virtue in Ancient Rome. It carries connotations of valor, manliness, excellence, courage, character, and worth, perceived as masculine strengths (from Latin ''vir'', "man"). It was thus a frequently stated virtue o ...
'' constituted the ideal of the true Roman male.
Gaius Lucilius
Gaius Lucilius (180, 168 or 148 BC – 103 BC) was the earliest Roman satirist, of whose writings only fragments remain. A Roman citizen of the equestrian class, he was born at Suessa Aurunca in Campania, and was a member of the Scipion ...
discusses ''virtus'' in some of his work and says that it is ''virtus'' for a man to know what is good, evil, useless, shameful or dishonorable.
''Dignitas'' and ''auctoritas''
*''
Dignitas'' and ''
auctoritas
''Auctoritas'' is a Latin word which is the origin of English "authority". While historically its use in English was restricted to discussions of the political history of Rome, the beginning of phenomenological philosophy in the 20th century e ...
'' were the end result of displaying the values of the ideal Roman and the service of the state, in the forms of priesthoods, military positions and magistracies. ''Dignitas'' was reputation for worth, honour and esteem. Thus, a Roman who displayed their ''gravitas'', ''constantia'', ''fides'', ''pietas'' and other values of a Roman would possess ''dignitas'' among their peers. Similarly, by that path, a Roman could earn ''auctoritas'' ("prestige and respect").
[''Ward''. p. 58]
See also
*
* ("Oh what times! Oh what customs!")
*
Notes
References
* Adkins, L. and Adkins, R. ''Dictionary of Roman Religion''. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.
* Berger, Adolph. ''Encyclopedic Dictionary of Roman Law''. Philadelphia: The American Philosophical Society, 1991.
* ''Brill's New Pauly''. Antiquity volumes edited by: Huber Cancik and Helmuth Schneider. Brill, 2008 Brill Online.
* ''Oxford Classical Dictionary''. 3rd Revised Ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
* Stambaugh, John E. ''The Ancient Roman City''. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1988.
* Ward, A., Heichelheim, F., Yeo, C. ''A History of the Roman People''. 4th Ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2003.
Further reading
* Fredericks, S. C. 1969. ''Mos maiorum in Juvenal and Tacitus.'' University of Pennsylvania Pr.
* Hoffmann, Zsuzsanna. 1982. "The Parody of the Idea of mos maiorum in Plautus." ''Oikumene'' , III, 217-223.
* Hölkeskamp, Karl-Joachim. 2010. ''Reconstructing the Roman Republic: An Ancient Political Culture and Modern Research (translated by Henry Heitmann-Gordon; revised, updated, and augmented by the author).'' Princeton/Oxford: Princeton University Press.
* Kenty, Joanna. 2016. "Congenital Virtue: Mos Maiorum in Cicero's Orations." ''Classical Journal'' 111.4:429-462
* Segal, Erich. 1976. “''O tempora, o mos maiorum''.” In ''The Conflict of Generations in Ancient Greece and Rome'', Edited by Bertman, Stephen S., 135-142. Amsterdam: Grüner.
* Tröster, Manuel. 2012. "Plutarch and ''mos maiorum'' in the ''Life of Aemilius Paullus''." ''Ancient Society'' 42, 219-254.
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mos Maiorum
Latin political words and phrases
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Codes of conduct