Vanissimas Papias leges exclusit. Note intorno ai limiti di età nella lex Iulia e nella lex Papia

This essay deals with the problem concerning the interpretation of the rules on the minimum age for marriage as fixed by the lex Iulia, and the minimum age for bearing children established by the lex Papia. Some scholars affirm that the two laws set different age limits and, in particular, the minimum age, according to the lex Papia, would have been lower than the age limit fixed by the lex Iulia. Yet, it appears more than reasonable to question this stance on the age limits established by the two laws for a number of reasons. First, the evidence one can read in Tertullian (Tert. Apol. 4.8) does not prove crucial in supporting the above-mentioned stance and the relevance of its ambiguous and perhaps biased content should not be, therefore, overestimated. Moreover, an in-depth analysis and a new interpretation of two further sources, namely Ps. Ulp. lib. sing. reg. 16.1 and Herod. 3.8.4-5 can help to shed a new light on the problem of the age limit as fixed by the lex Iulia and the lex Papia and let us infer, instead, that both the leges established the same rule.