>>510961662Monogamy in Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was one of the few ancient societies to legally enforce strict monogamy. Roman citizens were only allowed one legal spouse at a time, and polygamy was prohibited under Roman civil law.
Legal Monogamy
Roman marriage law (jus civile) permitted only one legal wife or husband.
Even emperors had just one legal wife, though they often kept concubines or mistresses.
Divorce and remarriage were common, but always sequential, never simultaneous.
Rate of Monogamy
Roughly 100% of Roman legal marriages were monogamous.
While elite men often had unofficial relationships—with slaves, freedwomen, or concubines—these did not count as legal marriages and had no official status under Roman law.
Cultural Context
Monogamy was seen as a Roman virtue tied to social order, inheritance, and citizenship.
Concubinage was accepted, especially when legal marriage wasn’t possible (e.g., between citizens and non-citizens or across class lines), but the legal wife always held higher status.
Early Christian writers promoted lifelong monogamy, but even before Christianity’s rise, monogamy was deeply embedded in Roman legal and cultural norms.
Exception: Roman Egypt
In Egypt (after 30 BCE), some non-citizen locals practiced polygyny, but Roman citizens there were still bound by Roman monogamy laws.
Summary:
In ancient Rome, monogamy was legally required, and all formal marriages were one-to-one. Polygamy was forbidden, making the rate of monogamous legal marriages effectively 100% among Roman citizens.