The divorce of Spurius Carvilius Ruga(19) in 234 B.J is mentioned as the first known divorce example in Rome. Valerius Maximus, Dyonisus of Halicarnassus and Aulus Gellius also attest to the story of the divorce. Although different dates are given concerning the date of the divorce (e.g.230 B.J, or 231 B.J.), there are no difference of opinion concerning the conditions of the divorce and the information about the persons. According to Dionysius’ account, “Spurius Carvilius, a man of distinction, was the first to divorce his wife, and that he was obliged by the censors to swear that he had married for the purpose of having children (his wife, it seems, was barren); yet because of his action, though it was based on necessity, he was ever afterwards hated by the people.”(20)…
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