Vitae Necisque Potestas in Roman Declamation

The Roman paterfamilias' power over his household, his patria potestas, was extreme and could encroach upon all domains of the lives of his dependants. Its most radical manifestation was the vitae necisque potestas, or the right to kill one's own children with impunity. There are twenty-two extant Roman declamations in which fathers have killed, or wish to kill, their sons. After an excursion into their juridical and historical background, I will discuss them briefly. It will appear that though sometimes critical of excesses, they serve to confirm rather than undermine the patria potestas.