Roman Marriage & Divorce

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Marriage in Rome had been more of an agreement between  families. Men married in their early twenties and women in their early teens if they both had been Roman citizens. Slaves were forbidden to marry; however, after the emperor Augustus passed the law of Julia free slaves were allowed to marry as long as the one they married was not a senator. They would get married in the betrothal where the families would join together for a wedding. They would exchange gifts and marriage would be official by signing a paper and sealed with a kiss. Since getting married was important they would choose a date very specific because some dates were better then others and June was the best month. 

Wedding Traditions
Women and men were supposed to live together. On the wedding day the man would lead a procession to his soon to be wife's home. When getting married the wife would have a orange veil and shoes. After the marriage was official there would be a big feast and a final procession to the couples home, where the wife would be carried over the threshold to escape bad luck.

Divorce was very simple, just as simple as marriage. There would have to be seven witnesses just to make sure there was proof. Women then would return back to their lives. If a women had cheated they would have to go to court and most likely have half of what they owned taken away. However, if a man had cheated it would not be recognized. The Roman city and its society belonged to the men.

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