"Freeborn women in ancient Rome were citizens (cives), but could not vote or hold political office."
Analyzes the roles and responsibilities of men, women, and children within families and societies of ancient times.
Gender Roles: The cultural and societal expectations placed on individuals based on their gender identity.
Family Structure: The composition of a family unit, including roles and responsibilities of each family member.
Marriage and Divorce: The historical and cultural norms surrounding marriage and divorce, including the legal and religious implications of each.
Parenting: The ways in which parents navigate their roles and responsibilities, including the cultural expectations placed on them.
Education: The role of education in shaping gender roles and family dynamics, including the cultural norms surrounding access to education for different genders.
Religion: The impact of religious beliefs and practices on gender roles and family dynamics.
History: A look at how gender roles and family life have evolved over time, including changes in cultural and societal norms.
Language and Communication: The ways in which language and communication can reinforce or challenge gender roles and family dynamics.
Economics: The impact of economic factors on gender roles and family dynamics, including the historical and contemporary economic contributions of men and women.
Politics: The ways in which political systems and policies can reinforce or challenge gender roles and family dynamics.
"Because of their limited public role, women are named less frequently than men by Roman historians."
"Women from wealthy or powerful families could and did exert influence through private negotiations."
"Exceptional women who left an undeniable mark on history include Lucretia and Claudia Quinta,"
"fierce Republican-era women such as Cornelia, mother of the Gracchi, and Fulvia, who commanded an army and issued coins bearing her image"
"women of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, most prominently Livia and Agrippina the Younger"
"the empress Helena, a driving force in promoting Christianity"
"elite women and their politically significant deeds eclipse those of lower status in the historical record"
"Some vivid snapshots of daily life are preserved in Latin literary genres such as comedy, satire, and poetry"
"particularly the poems of Catullus and Ovid"
"offer glimpses of women in Roman dining rooms and boudoirs, at sporting and theatrical events, shopping, putting on makeup, practicing magic, worrying about pregnancy"
"The published letters of Cicero...demonstrate through disparagement the various ways Roman women could enjoy a free-spirited sexual and social life."
"The one major public role reserved solely for women was in the sphere of religion: the priestly office of the Vestals."
"Forbidden from marriage or sex for a period of thirty years"
"the study and correct observance of rituals which were deemed necessary for the security and survival of Rome"
"Inscriptions and especially epitaphs document the names of a wide range of women throughout the Roman Empire"
"but often tell little else about them"
"The published letters of Cicero... reveal informally how the self-proclaimed great man interacted on the domestic front with his wife Terentia and daughter Tullia"
"various ways Roman women could enjoy a free-spirited sexual and social life"
"rituals which were deemed necessary for the security and survival of Rome but which could not be performed by the male colleges of priests"