Using evidence from Italy, and most often Rome, this book explores notions surrounding family life in the abstract and in reality. The way the idea of family was used in the forensic works of Cicero as a touchstone for elite morality, especially for men, is discussed, along with how the social family norms of pietas and affection informed the identity of the Roman nobility. Using a lesser known source, rescripts mostly from the east which are preserved in the Justinianic Codex, the domestic tensions that arose between parents and adult children are investigated. Family history in the Roman North-West as well as family and kinship in Roman Africa are also considered.