Influence of Culture over Marital Love and Fidelity in Ancient Rome and Ugboha of Edo State

Abstract

This paper, interrogated the roles and pressures of culture over marital love and fidelity and vice-versa in both societies. The study employed historical and comparative methodologies to highlight the influence of culture over marital love and fidelity in both societies. Sources utilised on Ancient Rome were classical and modern authors. Inscriptions from the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (CIL) were also utilized. For Ugboha, information was gathered from literary works, and oral interviews. The data were subjected to content analysis. This paper argued that culture which has the capacity to influence people’s actions with regard to marriage, tended to become partial and in times of change, becomes dynamic in order to suit the needs of contemporary times. This paper concludes by saying that in spite of the Hamitic hypothesis, culture and people of a society can grow and develop independent of each other. Key words: Marital love; Influence; Culture; Ancient Rome; Ugboha