Ancient Rome was certainly no place for Women's Lib, let alone
Affirmative Action! Roman women were unmercifully judged by the men
around them, and were deemed either "virtuous" or "scandalous." There
was very little middle ground. There was seen to be little or no use
in the education of women. They could not hold public office, and for
the patrician ladies at least, this seems likely to lead either to a life
of boredom, or "scandalous" behavior! One example of such "behavior" is
mistress and slave relationships.
Such unions threatened the male hierarchy of the Roman state, although
there were other reasons they were considered inacceptable. Legal status
of women explores this retraint from a legal standpoint, and shows
some of the punishments devised by the Romans for such scandalous
behavior as adultery. As could be expected, women caught committing
adultery could be killed at the whim of their husband, while adulterous
husbands, well the law stated that they were safe from harm.
A tribute to the women of Rome briefly shows some of the prejudice afforded women. The great Cicero himself stated "Our ancestors established the rule that all women, because of the weakness of their intellect, should be under the power of guardians." Well, that's a normative statement if I ever heard one! And coming from a man who wore a silly breastplate to elections, no less! Seriously, that Rome was a patriarical society is hardly in doubt.
On the other end of the spectrum come other views, slightly more modern. One such is Ad Femina Romana. There is an English translation of the poem as well.
Researchers at the University of Kentucky have put together a huge source of ancient texts discussing women's life in Greece and Rome. It literally is a one-stop shop for researh on the lives of Roman (or Greek) women. On the same topic, a similarly well-researched site has as extensive a collection with a slightly more user-friendly interface. Diotima, it should be noted, is also run out of the University of Kentucky.
Some women were lucky enough to be deified. Find out how and why this occurred in such a male-dominated society.
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Last updated: 3 July 1997 Send Comments to: Eleanor Rodgers, erodgers@uclink4.berkeley.edu Copyright © 1997 UVM Classics Department All Rights Reserved. |