due to the fact that it
symbolized the unity of the various groups whose members participated in
the same worship; i. e. the unity of the family and the unity of the
state. Nevertheless, the idea of obligation inherent in the Roman
conception of the relation between gods and men and the stress laid upon
the exact performance of ritual inevitably developed among the Romans a
strong sense of duty, a moral factor of considerable value. Further, the
power of precedent and tradition in their religion helped to develop and
strengthen the conservatism so characteristic of the Roman people.

II. EARLY ROMAN SOCIETY

*The household.* The cornerstone of the Roman social structure was the
household (_familia_). That is to say, the state was an association of
households, and it was the individual's position in a household that
determined his status in the early community. The Roman household was a
larger unit than our family. It comprised the father or head of the
household (_pater familias_), his wife, his sons with their wives and
children, if they had such, his unmarried daughters, and the household
slaves.

*The patria potestas.* The _pater familias_ possessed authority over all
other members of the household. His power over the free members was called
_patria potestas_, "paternal authority"; over the slaves it was
_dominium_, "lordship." This paternal authority was in theory unrestricted
and gave the father the right to inflict the death penalty upon those
under his power. But, in practice, the exercise of the _patria potestas_
was limited by custom and by the habit of consulting the older male
members of the household before any important action was taken.

The household estate (_res familiaris_) was administered by the head of
the household. At the death of a _pater familias_ his sons in turn became
the head of _familiae_, dividing the estate. The mother and unmarried
daughters, if surviving, now passed into the power of a son or the next
nearest male relative of the deceased. Although the Roman women were thus
continually in the position of wards, they nevertheless took a prominent
part in the life of the household and did not live the restricted and
secluded lives of the women of Athens and the Greek cities of Asia.

Membership in the household was reckoned only through male descent, for
daughters when they married passed out of the _manus_ or "power" of the
head of their own household i