Crime and punishment in ancient rome?

Answer 1

Anything. Being a patriarchal society, Roman men had absolute power over their children, wives, and sometimes even extended family in certain cases. They could kill them if they liked, though that was looked down on. So were many harsher punishments; you must remember that these children (the boys, at least,) would grow into the next tier of Roman aristocracy in many cases. They weren't mistreated too often or severely.

Striking a child would be a simple and common punishment. We don't have exact records on Roman society, I'm getting this last punishment from a passage regarding a group of rowdy children refusing to do their schoolwork. Most of our ideas on Rome are from reliefs and writings, and people don't often carve pictures of them beating up kids. Unless you're Caligula, in which case graffiti might depict something similar. But I digress.

I hope I answered your question.

Answer 2

if you killed your father you'd be sewn into a bag and chucked in the sea.

I am not the person who originally posted this answer, however I will improve it greatly, the crime they speak of is parricide/patricide (the killing of ones father), first, the accused would be stripped naked and whipped till bleeding (this could be in public or private) then they would get sewn into a sack with a viper, a rooster, a dog and an ape then you were thrown into the sea or a river, if neither was close enough they would simple get thrown to the animals in the arena.

A lot of Roman crimes were actually just punished by death, and the Romans being the creative people they are had many ways to kill someone. As far as crimes go they had basically the same amount/types of crimes we do today, rape, murder, assault, robbery, theft, forgery, treachery, vandalism and arson are just to name a few. I have made a small list below of punishments;

Types of punishment:

· Fines (Damnum or Duplum)

· Bonds (Vincula)

· Stripes (Verbera)

· Retaliation (Talio)

· Infamy (Ignominia)

· Banishment/Exile (Exilium)

· Slavery (Servitus)

· Death

There were many ways in Roman times that someone could be sentenced to death, these included;

· Beheading (Percusio securi)

· Strangling in Prison (Strangulatio)

· Throwing the criminal from a part of the prison called Robur (precipitatio do robore)

· Throwing a criminal from the Tarpeian rock (Dejectio e rupe Tarpeia)

· Crucifixion (In Crucem actio)

Crucifixion was not always on a cross.

Roman citizens could not be crucified.

· Burying a criminal alive

· Throwing a criminal into the river (Projectio in profluentem)

· Death by animals (damnatio ad bestias)

· Death by theatre - The criminals would act in a play as a person who would get killed in the story

· A criminal was stripped of everything, whipped until they were bleeding, and sewn into a sack with a serpent, a dog and a rooster (Culeus)

This punishment was only for Patricide.

Answer 3

It depended on the crime as to the punishment. Most crimes were punishable by fines. More serious crimes, such as murder or treason were punishable by death or exile. The punishments depended to a large extent upon the social class of the guilty. The sentences were carried out immediately except in cases of appeal.

Answer 4

A couple of punishments that spring to mind are the Roman Coloseums where people faced the swords of gladiators, lions or other wild animals and of course....crucifixion

Answer 5

Crimes in ancient Rome included murder, stealing, and blasphemy. The punishments for these crimes included crucifixion, beheading, and being buried alive.