The Mos MaiorumMR . CUMMINGS

WORLD HISTORY

Investigative Question

How did Rome’s lifestyle reflect Roman values contained in the Mos

Maoirum?

Background The unwritten code from which the Romans derived their social norms.

“Time-honored” principles and behavioral models and social practices that affected private, political, and military lie in ancient Rome.

Mos Maoirum revolved around strict hierarchical values These unwritten laws were complex and evolved over time.

Values of The Mos Maoirum Fides Pietas Religio Disciplina Gravitas Virtus Dignitas

Fides Encompasses trust/trustworthiness, good faith/faithfulness, confidence, reliability, and credibility.

Because oral contracts were common in the Empire, it was an important concept in Roman law.

The concept of fides was personified by the goddess Fides, whose role in the Mos Maiorum is indicated by the antiquity of her cult.

Pietas The Roman attitude of dutiful respect towards the gods, homeland, parents and family

Cicero defined pietas as "justice towards the gods.” The most important virtue of the Roman hero Aeneas in Vergil's Aeneid.

Religio Related to the Latin verb religare, “to bind”, religio is the bond between gods and mortals.

Important in preserving the pax deorum (“peace of the gods”). Religio and Cultus became one in the same, requiring Romans to actively observe and correctly perform rituals.

Disciplina The military character of Roman society suggests the importance of disciplina as related to education, training, discipline and self-control.

GravitasDignified self-control, while the word Constantia was usually attached to Gravitas, meaning 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, who in a founding legend of the Republic demonstrated his seriousness and determination to the Etruscan king Lars Porsenna by holding his right hand in a fire.

Virtus Virtus constituted the ideal of the true Roman male. The writer Lucilius discussed virtus in some of his work, stating that it is virtus for a man to know what is good, evil, useless, shameful, or dishonorable.

Dignitas Dignitas was 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, honor and esteem. Thus, a Roman who displayed their gravitas, constantia, fides, pietas and other values becoming a Roman would possess dignitas among their peers. Similarly, through this path, a Roman could earn auctoritas (“prestige and respect”).

Investigative Question

How did Rome’s lifestyle reflect Roman values contained in the Mos

Maoirum?