Jump to content
UNRV Ancient Roman Empire Forums
Sign in to follow this  
Hecto

"Coming of age" ceremony

Recommended Posts

Hello fellow Roman enthousiast,

 

I have a simple question concerning the coming of age ceremony for boys, yet the answer eludes me.

 

At what age exactly does it happen? It seems to hav change throughout the centuries but it tickles me since it seems to have been really important during the Republic and yet I have never found a clear answer.

 

From the multiple website I found, it seems the ceremony happened on march 17 during the Liberalia (but not exclusively?).

 

Oh and did it have to be in Rome ? Or for exemple, could a family (of roman citizen) in a province organize the ceremony there?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I don't know the full details, but a young man at the age of 14 dons the toga virilis (his first adult clothes) and shaves ritually for the first time. I don't know of any requirement of a youth to be in Rome since families were all over the empire and still followed Roman traditions. However - the toga virilis also denotes citizenship, and that's an important consideration. Non citizens may not have practised the entire ritual, and considering some children among the poor and slaves had been doing adult work as as they were able to, it had less meaning for them.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thank you very much for your answer. I still have not found much more except some bits and pieces concerning the 17th of March and the liberalia. Still thx a lot.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

  • Map of the Roman Empire

×