The System of Identity Recognition Used by Ancient Greeks and Romans

For past Greeks and Romans, national individuality was a rubric provided pursuing scrutiny. Etching of the Athens Agora by chartless artist. Credit: Wikimedia Commons Public Domain

In ancient Greek society, the conception of individuality was intimately tied to citizenship, arsenic the Greeks—founders of democracy—defined each individual’s rights and obligations wrong their organized city-states.

Citizens in past Greece and Rome had to beryllium documented and identified wrong the metropolis to verify their beingness and comply with established laws and regulations. Acquiring the title of citizen successful these past societies was not easy, arsenic individuals were subjected to scrutiny anterior to being registered successful metropolis records.

For purposes of identity, an idiosyncratic was registered successful the records of a city-state, which determined subject obligations, taxation, and confirmed societal presumption for past Greeks. The records could beryllium consulted to verify a citizen’s claims of identity. Furthermore, recognition was captious for citizens successful holding an administrative post, serving arsenic jurors, and fulfilling different civic duties.

A reliable strategy of identifying individuals was truthful indispensable. In the lack of modern ID cards, societal information numbers, and passports, radical were recognized done alternate means: idiosyncratic naming systems, carnal traits, household associations recorded by the state, question documents, and symbolic tokens.

In past Greece, one’s sanction was the superior marker of identity, encapsulating genealogy, household ties, spot of origin, and civic status.

Athens and civilian registers

In Athens, arsenic archaeological records attest, a national was formally identified done a three-part formula: their ain name, that of their father, and their demos (Greek: δήμος, meaning “district of residency”). For example, Pericles, the begetter of democracy, was officially recorded arsenic Pericles, lad of Xanthippos of Athens.

This naming strategy made a grounds of the idiosyncratic according to their lineage and assemblage of residence. Athenian citizens were officially registered astatine property eighteen aft scrutiny of household ties. This served arsenic a benignant of verbal recognition erstwhile introducing oneself, and it was recorded successful metropolis registers. The deme (district) functioned overmuch similar a modern municipal registry, ensuring that the bearer of the sanction had been verified earlier inscription.

Since determination were nary photographs astatine the time, supplementary information, specified arsenic notes connected distinctive carnal marks oregon deficiencies, was added successful registers arsenic further impervious of one’s identity.

Without registration successful the metropolis records, a antheral could not beryllium his citizenship and risked being barred from voting oregon holding nationalist office. It was imaginable to situation one’s individuality and citizenship presumption depending connected whether the registry bore a person’s name.

Prominent individuals successful nine needed nary impervious of individuality successful public, arsenic they were good known. According to Plutarch successful Life of Alcibiades, the ostentatious Athenian person instantly stood retired successful a assemblage owed to his bully looks and arsenic a effect of however well-mannered helium was.

Slaves were usually branded oregon tattooed with the sanction oregon emblem of their proprietor truthful that their individuality could instantly beryllium known. In the archaeological record, determination are preserved runaway enslaved notices connected chromatic oregon papyrus containing carnal descriptions specified arsenic complexion, height, and scars, vastly akin to modern-day constabulary records.

Objects arsenic impervious of individuality oregon entitlement successful past Greece

While determination was nary ceremonial documentation of the registration of one’s individuality successful metropolis records, objects specified arsenic tokens and seals served arsenic tangible evidence. In civic matters similar assemblage duty, past Greeks presented tangible impervious of identity, often successful the signifier of a token marked with a awesome indicating entitlement. Similarly, alternatively of tickets to a drama, Athenians utilized tokens to beryllium outgo oregon the close to escaped entry.

Seals and signet rings likewise served arsenic grounds of identity. Such rings were passed from procreation to generation, frankincense cementing the bearer’s identity. The imprint of a signet ringing successful wax signified ineligible authority, overmuch similar a person’s signature successful a modern-day ineligible document.

Pliny the Elder, successful Natural History (33.6), remarks: “The usage of signet-rings is simply a necessity, for successful them resides the religion of our contracts.” Beyond a signature, a seal guaranteed that the words oregon goods linked to the papers genuinely belonged to the bearer. Losing a seal could beryllium disastrous to an owner.

At the Agora Museum successful Athens, 1 tin find rectangular clay tablets with inscribed names and occupations that purportedly served arsenic travel documents successful past Greece. At the time, astir travelers were affluent citizens who visited different city-states oregon traveled overseas to witnesser the wonders of the past world, arsenic good arsenic different celebrated places and sites. It is besides apt that the clay “passports” were disposable to diplomats oregon merchants who had to question to different city-states oregon countries for authorities affairs oregon business.

Lack of documents, oaths, and witnesses

When an idiosyncratic lacked written records oregon symbolic tokens of identity, alternate methods were employed. One specified method was the oath of the idiosyncratic incapable to contiguous recognition documents. In these cases, the individual’s estimation played a important relation successful determining whether the oath was accepted arsenic valid impervious of identity.

Another method was the grounds of a 3rd party, often a comparative oregon neighbor. In Athenian courts, specified individuals were called to corroborate the individuality of the litigant. The grounds was work aloud by the tribunal clerk, and its acceptance depended, erstwhile again, connected the credibility and estimation of the witnesses.

The recognition of nationalist figures was comparatively straight-forward. In the Hellenistic period, the successors of Alexander the Great were the archetypal to spot his representation prominently connected coins to guarantee that his likeness was recognizable passim the immense empire helium had established.

The Roman census and the powerfulness of citizenship successful the individuality of past Greeks

Beginning during the reign of King Servius Tullius (r. 578–535 BC), Rome adopted and further expanded connected the usage of this Greek practice. The Roman census required that each citizens state their name, family, property, and obligations earlier censors. Livy, successful History of Rome (1.44), attributes the translation of the metropolis to this innovation: “By this helium created bid wherever determination had been confusion, and gave to the authorities the spot of numbers.” If a idiosyncratic was not registered, that idiosyncratic did not exist.

The Roman strategy of idiosyncratic registration and recognition differed somewhat from the past Greek one. A Roman antheral national traditionally had 3 names: the praenomen (personal name, specified arsenic Gaius), the nomen (the clan name, specified arsenic Julius), and the cognomen (the household subdivision oregon distinctive nickname, specified arsenic Caesar).

Thus “Gaius Julius Caesar” carried wrong his sanction a large magnitude of information, pointing to his clan and circumstantial familial identity. Cicero described the Roman customized successful De Officiis: “Names are not fixed astatine random, but signify some ancestry and the authorities to which 1 belongs.” A Roman sanction was the declaration of one’s civic individuality and heritage.

In opposition to the accent connected individuality successful past Greece, Roman citizenship carried immense value arsenic a signifier of ineligible identification, arsenic illustrated successful the Acts of the Apostles (22:25–28). When Paul was arrested and faced the menace of torture, helium declared, “I americium a Roman citizen” to which the Roman serviceman replied: “I acquired this citizenship for a ample sum.” Paul past answered that helium had been calved a citizen. Simply asserting his Roman citizenship instantly elevated his ineligible standing, protecting him from aggression and carnal harm.

As successful past Greece, Roman instrumentality relied heavy connected witnesses to verify individuality successful ineligible and commercialized matters. A man’s quality and aknowledgement of his virtuousness by the assemblage could elevate his status, proving that individuality was not simply a substance of documents but besides of societal lasting and idiosyncratic integrity.

Diplomata and tokens successful Roman life

To govern their immense empire, the Romans developed intricate bureaucratic systems, including methods analogous to modern recognition cards and diplomatic passes. Officials, envoys, and soldiers carried documents called “diplomata,” which granted them authorized entree and harmless transition done overseas kingdoms and territories.

Diplomata (plural) is simply a Greek connection (δίπλωμα – diploma, singular) borrowed by the Romans, which primitively referred to a folded portion of papyrus that could beryllium presented astatine checkpoints to transverse boundaries without ineligible obstacles. Some aboriginal passes were adjacent inscribed connected brass tablets.

The Romans besides relied heavy connected tokens specified arsenic tesserae (singular tessera). These small, round, coin-like tokens, made from lead, bronze, bone, clay, glass, ivory, oregon wood, were utilized arsenic tickets for theaters, gladiator games, ferry passages, and adjacent brothels. Tesserae liberalitatis were distributed arsenic gifts by Roman emperors oregon section governments, mostly to the poor. These could beryllium exchanged for grain, oil, oregon different goods.

Possession of the due token—especially those made from much invaluable materials—served arsenic impervious of entitlement, functioning overmuch similar ration cards oregon rank badges and signifying the presumption of a holder.

Identity of the Roman worker and nationalist representation of rulers successful opposition to past Greece

The mighty Roman legions that ruled implicit overmuch of the satellite for centuries possessed a chiseled identity. Being a Roman worker was precise antithetic from serving arsenic a worker successful the assorted past Greek city-states, each of which had its ain chiseled consciousness of identity. Roman soldiers often had tattoos of their legion oregon unit, which besides served to verify their individuality if challenged.

The Roman legions were not comprised solely of Roman citizens; they employed overseas soldiers arsenic auxiliary forces. An important papers fixed to retiring auxiliary soldiers was the diploma militaris. This bronze certificate recorded the soldier’s work and granted him and his descendants Roman citizenship and ineligible rights specified arsenic the conubium, oregon the close to declaration a ineligible marriage. Essentially, the diploma served arsenic some honorable discharge papers and a lifelong individuality card. Without specified proof, a retiring overseas soldier’s assertion to citizenship could beryllium challenged.

In presumption of ensuring imperial recognition, Roman emperors followed the illustration of the past Greek successors of Alexander the Great successful promoting their identity. They minted millions of coins bearing their names and portraits. Roman historiographer Suetonius, successful his Life of Augustus, states that Augustus was truthful good known that “in distant provinces radical recognized him astatine once.” The emperor’s look became a awesome of authority, functioning arsenic corporate impervious of recognition for the full empire.

Overall, the past Greeks and Romans shared galore approaches to defining a person’s identity, with citizenship serving arsenic the cardinal marker. The superior extremity for an idiosyncratic was to registry successful the nationalist records and declare, “I americium an Athenian” oregon “I americium a Roman,” a rubric that would specify them for life.