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Who Decided Children Mattered
In the Roman world, leaving an unwanted newborn at the base of a public column was legal, common, and considered a reasonable household decision. Aristotle endorsed infanticide for weak children. Seneca described it as rational household management. The Spartans institutionalized it.
The idea that a child’s life has inherent worth; that it cannot be assigned or revoked by a father, a state, or a council of elders, is not ancient wisdom. It is a specific invention. It has an origin.
This episode traces how one religious movement changed the legal, cultural, and moral status of children across…
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