Mos maiorum

The Roman family was one of the ways that the mos maiorum was passed along through the generations.

The mos maiorum (Classical Latin: [ˈmoːs majˈjoːrʊ̃]; "ancestral custom"[1] or "way of the ancestors"; pl.: mores, cf. English "mores"; maiorum is the genitive plural of "greater" or "elder") is the unwritten code from which the ancient Romans derived their social norms. It is the core concept of Roman traditionalism,[2] distinguished from but in dynamic complement to written law. The mos maiorum was collectively the time-honoured principles, behavioural models, and social practices that affected private, political, and military life in ancient Rome.[3]

  1. ^ Karl-J. Hölkeskamp, Reconstructing the Roman Republic: An Ancient Political Culture and Modern Research (Princeton University Press, 2010), p. 17 online.
  2. ^ Mos Maiorum, Brill Online.
  3. ^ Hölkeskamp, Reconstructing the Roman Republic, pp. 17–18.