Dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

(l8 DIVORTIUJM. DIVORTIIUM.
duct the accusation, was called div-iuatio, as the The statement of Plutarch (Romel. 22) that the
quest.on here was not about facts, but about some- husband alone had originally the power of ecbecting
thing which was to be done, and which could not a divorce may be true; but we cannot rely tl1be found out by witnesses or written documents; together on such an authority. In the cases of conso that the judices had, as it were, to divine the ventio in manum, one might suppose that a woman
course which they had to take. (Ascon. inx A -yuz. could not effect a divorce without the consent of
ad Cic. IDivinat. in Caec. p. 99. ed. Orelli.) Hence her husband, but a passage of Gains (i. 137) seems
the oration of Cicero, in which he tries to show that to say, that the conventio in manuri did not limit
he, and not Q Caecilius Niger, ought to conduct the wife's freedom of divorce at the time when
the accusation against Verres, is called Divsnatio Gaius wrote (Biicking, Instit. i. 229. n. 3). The
in (aeciliunm. Compare c. 15 and 20 of the oration, passage of Dionysius (Antiq. Romt. ii. 25), in which
and Gellius, ii. 4. [L. S.] he treats of marriage by confarreatio, declares that
DIVI'SOR. [AMBITrrS.] the marriage could not be dissolved.
DIVORTIUM, divorce. 1. GREEK. The term As the essential part of a marriage was the confor this act was a&ro'Xf.Ets or &a'rnl7rq+s, the former sent and conjugal affection of the parties, it was
denoting the act of a wife leaving her husband, and considered that this affection was necessary to its
the latter that of a husband dismissing his wife. continuance, and accordingly either party might
(Deml. c. Oaet. p. 865, c. Neaer. pp. 1362, 1365.) declare his or her intention to dissolve the conThe only Greek states respecting whose laws of nection. No judicial decree, and no interference
divorce we have any knowledge, are Athens and of any public authority, was requisite to dissolve a
Sparta. In both states the law, it appears, permitted marriage. Filiifamilias, of course, required the
both husbandand wife to call for and effect a divorce, consent of those in whose power they were. The
though it was much easier for a husband to get rid first instance of divorce at Rome is said to have
of his wife than for a wife to get rid of her husband. occurred about B. c. 234, when Sp. Carvilius Ruga
The law at Athens allowed a man to divorce his put away his wife (A. Gell. iv. 3, xvii. 21;
wife without ceremony, simply by his act of sending Val. Max. ii. 1. ~ 4) on the ground of barrenher out of his house (EKicrmrsa'v,, aror-tmrev), but ness: it is added that his conduct was generally
he was bound to restore to her the dowry which she condemned. The real meaning of the story is
had brought to him, or to pay her the interest of explained by Savigny with his usual acuteness
nine oboli per drachma every month, and in ad- (ZeitscAlrift, &c. vol. v. p. 269).
dition to this, to provide for her maintenance. Towards the latter part of the republic, and
(Demosth. c. Neaer. p. 1362.) It would, however, under the empire, divorces became very common;
seemn that a husband thus dismissing his wife, and in the case of marriages, where we assume
usually did so in the presence of witnesses. (Ly- that there was no convelltio in manunm, there was
sias, c. Alcib. p. 541.) What became of the no particular form required. Cun. Pompeius dichildren in such a case is not mentioned, but it vorced his wife Mucia for alleged adultery, and his
is probable that they remained with the father. If, conduct was approved (Cic. ad Att. i. 12, 18);
on the other hand, a wife wished to leave her hus. and Cicero speaks of Paula Valeria (ad Faez.
band, she was oblig -d in person to appear before viii. 7) as being ready to serve her husband, on
the archon and to deliver up to him a memorial his return from his province, with notice of divorce.
containing the reasons why she wished to be di- (Compare Juv. vi. 224, &c.; Mart. vi. 7.) Cicero
vorced. (Plut. Alcib. 8.) She had to conduct her himself divorced his wife Terentia, after living with
case quite alone, for as she was in her husband's her thirty years, and married a young woman
power so long as the verdict was not given, no one whom he also divorced (Plut. Cic. 41). Cato the
had a right to come forward and plead her case. If younger divorced his wife Marcia, that his friend
both parties agreed upon a divorce, no further pro- Hortensius might marry her and have children by
ceedings were required, mutual consent being suf- her; for this is the true meaning of the story. (P]ut.
ficient to dissolve a marriage. But if one party ob- Cat. iAin. 25.) If a husband divorced his wife, the
jected, an action (&iromrs' rews or &a'roXelqeA's 8iKL?7) wife's dos, as a general rule, was restored [Dos]
might be brought against the other: the proceed- and the same was the case when the divorce took
insgs in such a case, however, are unknown. (Heff- place by mutual consent. As divorce became more
ter, At/en. Gericlstsveif. pp. 250, 414; Meier, Att. common, attempts were made to check it indiProc. p. 413, &c.) rectly, by affixing pecuniary penalties or pecuniary
At Sparta, it seems, a man might dismiss his wife, loss on the party whose conduct rendered the divorce
if she bore him no issue. (Herod. v. 39, vi. 61.) necessary. This was part of the object of the lex
Charondas, in his legislation at Thurii, had per- Papia Poppaea, and of the rules as to the retentio
mitted divorce, but his law was subsequently modi- dotis, and judicium morum. There was the refled by the addition, that if divorced persons should tentio dotis propter liberos, when the divorce was
wish to marry again, they should not be allowed to caused by the fault of the wife, or of her father, in
marry a person younger than the one from whom he whose power she was: three-sixths of the dos was
(or she) had been separated. (Diod. xii. 18.) the limit of what could be so retained. On alcA woman, aft r her divorce, returned to the count of matters morum graviorum, such as adultery,
house of her father, or of that relative who was a sixth part might be retained; in the case of
under obligation to protect her if she had never matters morum leviorum, one eighth. The husband,
been married at all. In reference to her he was when in fault, was punished by being required to
her KIpIOS. (Demosth. c. NVeaer. p. 1362.) [L. S.] return the dos earlier than it was otherwise re
2. RoMAN. The word divortiume signified ge- turnable. After the divorce, either party might
nerally a separation, and, in a special sense, a dis- marry again. (Sueton. Aug. 34.)
solution of marriage. A Roman marriage was dis- By the lex Papia Poppaea, a freedwomail who
solved by the death of the wife or husband, and by had married her patronus could not divorce her
divortium in the lifetime of the husband and wife. self; there appears to have been no other class of