Tollere liberum

The tollere liberum (from tollere, to raise; liberus, child) was an ancient Roman tradition in which a man picked up a newly born infant from the ground and lifted them in the air to display his acceptance of them as part of his household. It was commonly the father, or in some cases the chief of the house, who performed the task. In some variations of the tradition the man would carry them around a portion of earth (similar to the Greek amphidromia).[1][2]

  1. ^ Hornblower, Simon; Spawforth, Antony; Eidinow, Esther (2014). The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization. OUP Oxford. pp. ?. ISBN 9780191016769.
  2. ^ The Journal of Juristic Papyrology. Vol. 1. Warsaw Society of Sciences and Letters. 1952. p. 30.