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sillioussoduss

Adultery And Punishment ?

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Well there's a thing called paterfamilias. So really, the husband can commit adulturey anytime and anywhere(so clique). But as for the wife when she commits adultery, well the husband has the option of killing her and the children. But in the high classes, Patricians, you would simply divorce because you don't want to piss of the father of your wife whom may be of great reputation and wealth.

 

I think I might be wrong, so someone correct me.

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Traditional law in many Mediterranean countries allows a husband to kill his wife's lover if he catches them having sex. But he can be accused of murder if the lover's family can make the case that the killing was premeditated. This is the point behind a well known ancient Greek law case in which the surviving speech is by the husband. It's pretty clear that he allowed the lover to be led on, so as to have the chance to kill him, but of course he can't admit this. Perhaps someone can fill in the reference for me.

I guess similar customary law prevailed in Rome too. Whether you consider this a 'death penalty for adultery' depends on your definitions ... it isn't imposed by a court, but it is legally sanctioned.

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What I find psychologically interesting is that when adulterous couples are caught in flagrante delicto by a husband, the husband very often kills his wife but not the male adulterer. For those who think the mind is shaped by culture and not biology, I'd be very interested in hearing an explanation for this disparity.

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What I find psychologically interesting is that when adulterous couples are caught in flagrante delicto by a husband, the husband very often kills his wife but not the male adulterer. For those who think the mind is shaped by culture and not biology, I'd be very interested in hearing an explanation for this disparity.

 

Any statistics available on this? If, like me, you enjoy reading epics, you may remember the first big scene in Byron's /Don Juan/. Juan eventually flees leaving his clothes behind: if caught he risks death from Julia's husband's sword, but Julia doesn't seem to be in such mortal danger. But that's only one example.

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What I find psychologically interesting is that when adulterous couples are caught in flagrante delicto by a husband, the husband very often kills his wife but not the male adulterer.

 

Any statistics available on this?

 

Yes, but I don't have them handy. I think my old teacher David Buss has them in his book, "The Murderer Next Door." Wilson and Daly probably have them also in their book on homicide.

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What I find psychologically interesting is that when adulterous couples are caught in flagrante delicto by a husband, the husband very often kills his wife but not the male adulterer.

 

Any statistics available on this?

 

Yes, but I don't have them handy. I think my old teacher David Buss has them in his book, "The Murderer Next Door." Wilson and Daly probably have them also in their book on homicide.

 

Thanks, I'll look at those!

Edited by Andrew Dalby

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