Rome Had a Rule For Everything
Ancient Rome left behind one of history's most influential legal traditions, but don’t let that fool you into thinking it made any sense. Plenty of Roman law wouldn’t last five minutes in a modern courtroom. What makes it even crazier is that modern historians only have so much to work with, and some of the oldest laws survive only because later Roman writers preserved fragments of them. What we’re left with is some pretty insane legislation regarding lawsuits, funerals, dinner parties, and even dental work.
1. You Could Physically Drag Someone to Court
That guy down the street owes you money? He wasn’t getting away with it. The Twelve Tables, traditionally dated to 451–450 BC, required a defendant who had been formally summoned to actually show up in court. If he didn’t, the plaintiff was legally permitted to seize him and bring him along. A person trying to flee could also be physically detained.
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2. Debtors Could Be Put In Heavy Chains
Forget declaring bankruptcy—failing to pay a legally established debt was painfully literal under the Twelve Tables. After a 30-day period expired, a creditor could take the debtor into custody and bind him in fetters weighing at least 15 pounds. The law even addressed how much food the prisoner should get if he couldn't provide his own.
3. You Couldn't Bury Someone Inside Rome
Burial and cremation were both prohibited within the city. Roman burial grounds consequently developed outside the inhabited center, particularly along major roads leading away from Rome. The rule endured for centuries, and someone who went against it could be hit with a fine of 40 aurei.
4. Gold Was Banned From Graves
It’s not uncommon to look your best before burial, but the Twelve Tables tried to limit the amount of gold placed with the dead. There was, however, a very specific exception for someone whose teeth had been attached with gold, which was more than allowed during burial or cremation.
5. A Father Could Sell His Son More Than Once
And here we thought raking the leaves was annoying enough. In ancient Rome, a son only became free from his father's legal power after his father had sold him three times. That strange rule later became connected to the formal procedure Romans used when emancipating a son from patria potestas.
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6. Severely Disabled Infants Could Be Ordered Killed
Among the harshest "rules" regarded a notably deformed infant who wasn’t allowed to live. The rule reflects the brutal degree of authority that early Roman society placed in the household, and things were a lot harsher in the hands of its male head.
7. Searching For Stolen Property Could Involve a Loincloth
All you need to know about this one is that it’s called per lancem et licium, and it’s a search involving a platter and a loincloth. Later Roman sources describe a person searching a suspected thief's house while minimally dressed, which left little chance of secretly carrying in the supposedly stolen object and planting it.
8. "Spendthrifts" Could Lose Their Property
History is no stranger to royalty blowing through their money, but Rome didn't let you waste your fortune. The Twelve Tables put the kibosh on that, allowing someone formally regarded as a spendthrift to be prevented from administering his property. It was then placed under the supervision of male relatives.
9. You Needed Permission Before Sending an Enslaved Person to Fight
The Lex Petronia restricted an enslaver's ability to simply hand a person over to fight in the arena. If the owner thought that fighting wild animals was deserved, the matter had to go before an authority who got the final say. It was hardly humane by modern standards, but the fact that Rome needed legislation against sending people to the beasts says plenty about the practice it was trying to restrain.
10. Patricians and Plebeians Were Once Forbidden to Marry
One of the supplementary Twelve Tables prohibited marriage between Rome's patrician elite and plebeians. People weren’t happy about it, though, and the restriction actually got so controversial that the Lex Canuleia abolished it in 445 BC.
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11. Wealthy Men Couldn't Make a Woman Their Heir
So much for a prenup. The Lex Voconia of 169 BC restricted women from being named heirs by men belonging to a specified wealthy property class. The rule could even affect a man's daughter, although Romans eventually developed legal methods for getting around those pesky restrictions.
12. Women Were Told How Much Gold They Could Wear
Gold wasn’t just on the chopping block beyond the grave. The Lex Oppia of 215 BC imposed conspicuously specific restrictions on Roman women. It limited the amount of gold they could have, restricted some clothing, and prevented women from riding in carriages within Rome except for religious occasions. Women were furious, publicly opposing the restrictions until the law was repealed in 195 BC.
13. The Government Could Limit Your Dinner Guests
Rome's repeated attempts to curb luxury eventually reached the guest list too. The Lex Orchia, passed in 181 BC, restricted how many people could show up to certain private events. Some higher-ups were more than on board with it too, and Cato the Elder later defended the measure when Romans sought its repeal.
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14. Dinner Could Legally Include Only One Chicken
No spending in excess. No eating in excess. The Romans weren’t very fun! Take the Lex Fannia of 161 BC, which placed detailed spending restrictions on Roman banquets. Different limits applied on particular occasions, and ancient accounts associate the law with restrictions on poultry, including serving no more than one hen that had not been specially fattened.
15. Guests Could Get in Trouble For an Illegal Dinner
Rome's Lex Didia only expanded earlier restrictions on extravagant meals throughout Italy. More remarkably, penalties weren't aimed solely at people hosting excessive banquets—guests who knowingly attended could also face consequences. Long story short, it was go at your own risk.
16. Lawyers Weren't Supposed to Charge For Pleading a Case
The Lex Cincia of 204 BC included restrictions on advocates accepting money or gifts for pleading legal cases. Augustus later reinforced limits on payments, and Emperor Claudius eventually permitted advocates to receive fees up to a specified amount.
17. Freed Enslaved People Didn't Get the Same Status
Augustus' Lex Aelia Sentia, passed in AD 4, created complicated restrictions surrounding manumission. An enslaved person younger than 30 generally had to be freed under very specific conditions to receive full Roman citizenship. However, if you had previously undergone specified punishments, you could be denied citizenship after gaining freedom.
18. You Were Limited in How Many People to Free
The Lex Fufia Caninia prevented slaveholders from just freeing whoever they wanted through their wills. The permitted proportion varied according to the total number of enslaved people, but the allowed fraction decreased as the household got larger.
19. Adultery Became a Crime Against the State
Augustus transformed adultery from a private household matter into a public criminal offense through the Lex Julia de adulteriis coercendis. The statute imposed severe legal penalties and, in narrowly defined circumstances, recognized a father's right to kill an adulterous daughter (and her partner when they were caught together).
20. The Government Pressured You Into Marriage
Apparently, Augustus wasn't satisfied with regulating adultery—his marriage legislation tried to push eligible Romans toward marrying and producing children. It was get married and have kids, or face disadvantages thanks to the Lex Julia de maritandis ordinibus. For some unmarried or childless Romans, things got especially rough when it came to inheritances and legacies.
