Lost Hopes? Parental Hope and the Death of Children in Ancient Rome

Abstract The chapter examines hope in Ancient Rome through parental commemorations of deceased children. In the premodern world, individuals relied heavily on family and lineage, making a child’s death a crisis for future continuity—a common experience due to high child mortality rates. It investigates whether hope influenced the mindset of grieving Roman parents, viewing hope as a future-oriented emotion evident in actions and as a positive attitude amid crises, countering despair. Using consolation literature and funerary epigraphy from the Early Roman Empire in Italy, this study suggests that hope, as both an emotion and attitude, was central in commemorations, guiding parents to express hopefulness rather than succumb to despair and excessive grief.