The Roman Empire shared many of the views of the Greek city-states.  Records tell us that deformed births were disposed of in the Tiber River.  In ancient Greece and Rome, a child did not become a member of the family until the father accepted it.  Since infants were not automatically acknowledged, the death or abandonment of a child did not always have the same connotations as it would today.

During the Imperial period, the wealthy upper classes adopted a perverse hobby of collecting disabled individuals.  Slaves could be purchases at the teraton agora, or monster market, and were used for entertainment.  Legend holds that Emperor Elagabalus had a large collection of such individuals25

Despite this tempered acceptance, Roman society could also be brutal towards disabled individuals. In addition to taunts and humiliation, these people often became the subjects of violence.  In one account in 207 B.C., hermaphrodites were sealed in a box and thrown into the sea26 Their ‘otherness’ could be threatening to a society.