Luxury in Ancient Rome: Scope, Timing and Enforcement of Sumptuary Laws

The last article that Eric and I reviewed was “Luxury in Ancient Rome: Scope, Timing and Enforcement of Sumptuary Laws.” One of the main things that this article focused on was how there were laws that limited the consumption on many different luxury goods. These laws were aimed at moralizing roman society, protecting family patrimonies, or restricting the political influence of the equestrian class. 

Some other examples of sumptuary laws could also be related to how there would be limits on gifts during certain festivals, regulating women's jewelry, and clothing that is worn and the use of chariots in the capital. These laws were explained by either religious activities, political campaigns, and demeanor of women. Other laws that were there to limit luxury are the restrictions of guests which are restricting the amount of people who can visit per day, restricting the acceptance of invitations from an individuals of low social standings. These restrictions were in place to stop newcomers from expanding their social political networks. 

Also there were restrictions on expenses for banquets, festivals, and certain types of food. For banquets the reason for why this rule was in place was to stop people from blowing all of their money that they have inherited. Then for foods this rule was only in place so that the wealth could limit the consumption of certain types of foods. This is explained through the government setting a price ceiling which caused a shortage of that certain type of food such as smoked meats. This made it so that it was unprofitable for traders to import such exotic goods. We saw many examples of luxuries in Rome such as the Colosseum which is a one of a kind good that boasts luxury. Another place that our group visited was Vatican, which was covered in gold and marble showing the wealth of the Vatican state.