Problemi di famiglia. Matrigne incestuose e padri indulgenti nella declamazione latina

The essay reflects on cases of adultery between a stepmother and a stepson in Latin declamation (Sen. contr. exc. 6,7; contr. fr. 1; Ps. Quint. decl. min. 335) and on the confusion and overlapping of roles of kinship determined by these incestuous relationships. In particular, the husband to whom the declamatory law, considering his iustus dolor, recognizes the legitimacy of the killing of the adulterers, also takes on the role of father of the adulterer. This double role creates the paradox of a husband who gives up his role as a vindex severus of adultery and brings to light the new model of a pater indulgens who prioritizes the lives of his children over respect for the rules. Through these paradoxical cases, the declamation reveals the complexity of a reality that escapes traditional models: new cultural models emerge, and a redefinition of roles, also attested in contemporary literary and legal production