thumb | right | alt=Photograph of a statue depicting two people | Ancient Roman marriage (Baths of Diocletian Museum, Rome)
In ancient Rome, was a traditional patrician form of marriage. The ceremony involved the bride and bridegroom sharing a cake of emmer, in Latin far or panis farreus, hence the rite's name. Far is often translated as "spelt", which is inaccurate as the grain used was Triticum dicoccum (emmer), not Triticum spelta. The Flamen Dialis and pontifex maximus presided over the wedding, and ten witnesses had to be present.
Having parents who were married by was a prerequisite for becoming a Vestal or the Flamen Dialis. Scipio Africanus presumably married his wife Aemilia Tertia by , because their elder son was Flamen Dialis; yet Scipio's mother Pomponia was a plebeian.
Divorce for marriages, diffarreatio, The three major flamines were also required to marry virgins; further, if the wife of the Flamen Dialis died, he was immediately required to resign. It is not clear if this was true of the other priests.
See also
- Manus marriage
- Marriage in ancient Rome