Children Abandonment and Infanticide

Children Abandonment and Infanticide

Infanticide is the intentional killing of a baby, a common practice in ancient societies like Rome. Infanticide was carried out in various ways, but the most common method was abandoning the infant to die of exposure to hunger, hypothermia, animal attack, or thirst (Harris 1994). The idea that a parent could let their child die of exposure is perplexing and seems so alien; however, evidence is very straightforward when it comes to the aspect. The main reasons children were abandoned were illegitimacy, disability or physical inadequacy, and limited family size in perceived economic need (Patterson 1985).  Additionally, the few abandoned children that were rescued served to transfer potential labor from freedom to slavery. Our assignment writing services will allow you to attend to more important tasks as our experts handle your task.

Once a parent decided not to rear a child, they would leave the infant at a location famous for exposing unwanted children, such as Spurci Lacus and Lactoria Columna. Leaving a child at such places increased their chances of being adopted, and they mostly turned into a slave. Nonetheless, some parents left their children in more isolated areas outside the cities, clearly intending to die rather than be “adopted.” Additionally, some parents would leave their children clothed, which was not always the case. In contrast, other parents left tokens with the child, hoping that these tokens would be used to identify the abandoned child as a family member (Rawson 2003).

According to evidence, most abandoned children were either disabled or girls (Patterson 1985). Most ancient society studies suggest that more girls were exposed than boys were. For example, a letter from a husband to his wife saying that if she bore a boy, she should let him live, but if the child was a girl, she had to expose her (Harris 1994). A Greek physician, Soranus of Ephesus, even gave an extensive list of criteria to determine if a child was healthy enough to be raised or disabled enough to be exposed (Harris 1994). Accordingly, abandonment and infanticide strengthened their population by ensuring healthy children and boys occupied a majority of their population compared to disabled children and girls.

In conclusion, most reasons for child exposure were based on the reasoning of family survival. For instance, the arrival of an extra mouth or a child who needed more time and care than other children meant diminished shares for everyone else or more hardship in their lives. Family influences society, and thereby, their actions influence the strength of the population in said society.

References

Harris, W. V. (1994). Child exposure in the Roman Empire. The Journal of Roman Studies, 84, 1-22.

Rawson, B. (2003). Children and Childhood in Roman Italy. OUP Oxford.

Patterson, C. (1985). “Not Worth the Rearing.” The Causes of Infant Exposure in Ancient Greece. Translations of the American Philosophical Association (1974), 115, 103-123.

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Children Abandonment and Infanticide

Examine how ancient societies strengthened their population by abandoning specific children.