Utopia, Domestication and Special Status: Marriage and Family in the Stoic Tradition

Abstract

The family was a prominent aspect of early imperial ideology and enjoyed an increased status in Roman society of the period. Since Panaetius, Stoic thought provided rational support for this status by means of its oikeiosis doctrine. Roman Stoics, far from ignoring the prominence of family in their society, imbued the space of marriage with fresh content but did not agree on the issue of whether the philosopher should be exempted from this responsibility. Ambiguity on whether the sage should marry can be traced back to the Stoic founder. The scantily transmitted material on Zeno suggests a double focus in early Stoic thought, on the one hand utopian constructions of the ideal sate and ideal sage (where marriage is abolished) and on the other, ordinary reality (where the Stoic sage should marry and procreate). The abolition of property and marriage (having women and children in common) occurs frequently in so-called high utopias of the classical era, but this aspect of Stoicism diminished since the middle Stoa, together with receding expectations regarding the Stoic wise man. The Roman Stoics Musonius and Epictetus relate differently to their own tradition. Musonius pays no attention to utopia or the ideal sage, but incorporates utopian vocabulary in his defence of marriage for the philosopher, thus 'domesticating' utopia. This results in an emphasis on the marriage partnership as small-scale communism based on friendship. Epictetus retains the distinction between the ideal community of the wise and reality as is. Marriage is an essential part of the latter, but the Cynic, to whom Epictetus assigns the special status of messenger and scout of Zeus, is exempted from the responsibilities accompanying family life.