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Simple English definitions for legal terms
quaestores parricidii
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A quick definition of quaestores parricidii:
Quaestores Parricidii: In ancient Rome, there were two officers called quaestores parricidii who were responsible for finding and trying people who committed serious crimes like parricide. Parricide means killing your own family member. There was a law called lex Pompeia de parricidiis that defined what kind of murders were considered parricide and set a special punishment for it. The punishment was very scary - the person who committed parricide was put in a sack with a dog, a rooster, a viper, and a monkey, and then thrown into a river or the sea.
A more thorough explanation:
QUAESTORES PARRICIDII
Quaestores parricidii were two officers in the early Roman Republic who were responsible for investigating and trying cases of parricide and other capital offenses. Parricide was considered the most heinous crime in ancient Rome, and the punishment for it was severe.
The Lex Pompeia de Parricidiis was a law passed in 70 or 55 B.C. that defined what constituted parricide and established a special punishment for it. The offender was executed by being sewn up in a sack with a dog, a rooster, a viper, and a monkey, and then thrown into a river or the sea.
For example, if a son killed his father, he would be charged with parricide and brought before the quaestores parricidii for trial. If found guilty, he would be subjected to the punishment prescribed by the Lex Pompeia de Parricidiis.
This example illustrates how seriously the Romans viewed the crime of parricide and how they went to great lengths to punish those who committed it.