Persona, caput, and status

The Roman idea of person (persona) was distinct from the idea of an individual (or entity) with legal capacity. Originally, persona meant a mask, i.e., a character in a theatrical performance.

Synonymous with the person was the head, caput - caput thus being used as synecdoche, as a part representing the whole person. But caput also was a technical term, especially in the expression capitis deminutio. Originally, capitis deminutio meant a reduction in the size of a group by the loss of one of its members. Thus, when a Roman citizen lost citizenship, the Roman People was diminished; or when a son was adopted, the biological family was diminished. Later, the term came to signify a lowering of personal status owing to a change in family identity (capitis deminutio minima), loss of citizen�ship (capitis deminutio media), or loss of freedom (capitis deminitio maxima). In general, a person�s status denoted his or her legal position with respect to the household (familia) and the people of Rome. The main factors determining an individual�s legal status were citizenship and social rank.

The most fundamental division in the law of persons was that between free persons and slaves (Gaius 1.9). Next came the divide between Roman citizens and foreigners or strangers (peregrini), which made room for the intermediate and particularly favorable legal status of Latini. Finally, there was the divide between those who were independent (sui iuris) and those who were submitted to a paterfamilias (alieni iuris).

Family law 129 punishments (capital punishment by crucifixion or by exposure to wild beasts, torture, and corporal punishment, among others) were applicable only to lower classes. Where humiliores were punished by capital death, honestiores were only sent into exile; where humiliores were punished with forced labor (deportatio) or even death for a certain crime, honestiores were only punished with temporary expulsion to an island along with confiscation of their property (relegatio).