The “right of kiss” in ancient Rome: a strange measure to control wine consumption

In ancient Rome, where wine was a very precious good and status symbol, some other measure was launched more than curious to regulate its consumption. One of them was called Ius Osculi or kiss right, which was looking for the prohibition to drink wine between Women, slaves and men under 30 of the time. They couldn’t drink and had to watch them … very closely.

Knowing how to extract the best must and ferment it to turn it into a wine was an art that all citizens of that time did not dominate. In fact, there are experts who ensure that the Romans made contact with viticulture through the Greek settlers. And, since there were few dominated the technique, The wine was scarce And we had to watch who consumed it. Hence, for example, slaves who knew how to elaborate it were paid up to three times more expensive.

The peculiar law of kiss allowed men who could consume came to kiss any close relative in order to verify if he had consumed wine. That is, that a man could kiss any woman, to be from her family to, thanks to the kiss, check if that woman had drunk or did not come.

Catón, the first

According to some texts, Catón was the first to cite this right to kiss almost indiscriminately, something that Plinio and Aulo Gelio also did. It was a measure motivated by the shortage of wine and its high price, shortage and price that Women harm and discriminated further.

However, when the production of wine was more abundant, from the second century BC, fortunately some restrictions that looked to monitor their consumption were losing bellows. Including the right of kiss.

Some scholars also collect from the time that Agripina, according to Suetonio, continually asked to be kissed by his uncle, Emperor Claudio, arguing that thanks to the Ius Osculi Claudio could detect whether she had drunk or did not come.

This unique custom also had tragic consequences. And, according to authors such as Plinio or Fabio Pictor, the punishments that were taken against women who had drunk their husbands’ wine They could be murdered or condemned to starve by his own family.