Women in antiquity

The purpose of this article is to reflect on women from the ancient society and their studies, especially from Britannia. This work is made up of Romans and Britons women, who composed different costumes, which interspersed, which lived there and which were in some way evidenced by written and/or material vestiges.
This was not a homogenous group, both for the population that had already lodged there and for the one that came later, there was a great variety of ideas about their status and how they should lead their lives.
Materials on Roman and Briton have already been found epigraphically, on altars, tombstones and burials. However, this work will compare these first sources with the work of Tacitus, Annals, since this author always seems to place women with pejorative characteristics, very different from the loving and amorous words given to them in these places of death.

The book, Boudica: warrior woman of Roman Britain, by Caitlin C. Gillespie, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Classical Studies at Brandeis University, is part of a series that provided compact and accessible introductions to the life and history of women from the ancient world. In the beginning of the book, there are three maps that show the Roman Empire under Nero, the Britons tribes and the sites that
are important to the narrative of Boudica’s rebellion against the Romans, AD 60/61. Subsequently, the work is divided in seven chapters and an Epilogue.

In order to understand Circe, it is necessary to interpret the symbolism of the characters and contexts in the episodes where she is mentioned. We need to compare Circe not just with oth- er characters in the poem, but with characters from the Epic of Gilgamesh and other Indo-Eu- ropean works. It is not just about the goddess and the hero and their relationship, but also about the island where the goddess dwells, the role of women in society, the role of men in the civilised world, the hero’s struggle and the Upper and Underworld. Understanding Circe helps to better understand the world in which the poet lived, how male and female roles fit in society and what was expected from them. Circe is also the first of a long list of characters in the Ancient world. Independent and autonomous women who were in contact with nature. Women who probably were feared by men and as a result, portrayed as witches, and as Evil that had to be repressed. Circe and her world also represent the binary system of good and Evil, the Upper and the Underworld. This was a dual system that Greece inherited from its neighbours in Mesopotamia, Syria, Palestine and Egypt. It was a dual system that influenced mythology, literature and society.
The origins of Circe might be Indo-European, from a time before the East split from the West. It might have been that the Bedr Basim and Bhimaparakrama stories combined to cre- ate both the Odyssey and another story named Mahavamsa. It is a story that most probably was influenced by the Bronze, the Dark and the Lyric Ages, all combined together by poets of the time1.

The Villa Romana del Casale is a 4th century luxury Roman villa located outside the town of Piazza Armerina in Sicily. The villa is justifiably famous for its impressive assemblage of mosaics, stretching over 3,500 square meters; these mosaics reflect themes common to the era, using both direct and symbolic means to laud the dominus, or landowner.  The mosaic program includes several fantastic mosaics such as “The Labors of Hercules”, as well as realistic depictions including, “The Great Hunt,” and the “Coronation of the Winner” informally nicknamed the “Bikini Girls”. The mix of mythological scenes and daily life begs the viewer to wonder what these mosaics meant to the people who created and lived with them, and why the “Coronation of the Winner” mosaic is so unique in collection of mosaics surviving from antiquity.

La existencia de un tratado dedicado a cantar las hazañas de las mujeres en un mundo como el griego, que había crecido escuchando las gloriosas gestas de los hombres transmitidas por Homero, puede resultar llamativo. Sin embargo, lo realmente nuevo de este libro es que su autor lo redactara tras haber debatido antes el asunto con una mujer. Plutarco le dedicó La excelencia de las mujeres a su admirada Clea. De ese buen comienzo nació
este ensayo, que merece ser leído sin los prejuicios que atribuyen a los griegos de la Antigüedad una especial misoginia; de igual manera, su autor merece reconocimiento por haber entendido que la excelencia, las diferentes maneras de manifestarse las variadas virtudes humanas, no entiende de sexos. No pocas de las historias que aquí se recogen están
pasando ahora mismo y nos invitan a estar vigilantes y a no dar por asegurada ninguna victoria de la civilización sobre la barbarie.

Dans une perspective toute à la fois poétique, rhétorique et juridique, ainsi que générique et intertextuelle, cette étude propose une réflexion sur la mémoire et la parole de l’héroïne ovidienne. Une lettre simple (Médée, Héroïde XII) et une lettre double (Acontius et Cydippe, Héroïdes XX-XXI) sont au cœur de notre recherche. Médée et Cydippe allient le souvenir de l’instant à la parole intime et nous invitent à illustrer la représentation de la femme qui surgit au sein de l’art poétique du pathos, puis à affirmer la légitimation de son statut juridique dans une vraisemblance historique, et à apercevoir, dans un dernier temps, son émancipation, conquise dans une diversité dialogique et tensionnelle des genres et des textes. Les interférences textuelles avec les modèles fondateurs sont bien répertoriées, dans le cadre d’une allusion propre à faire apparaître une réécriture métaphorique de la réflexivité, dans un entrecroisement des instants que favorise particulièrement la figure d’Ariane catullienne (Carmen LXIV). Menée dans cet esprit, l’étude de la réminiscence littéraire est effectuée dans un travail des mots et des notions, pour la recherche d’une véritable mimésis poétique. Cette lecture aboutit à dégager la valeur autoréflexive de l’image du texte : mémoire ingénieuse et parole polysémique participent à un jeu savant où la figure féminine et la poiésis composée sont, à vrai dire, inséparables. Là réside encore l’originalité ovidienne : entre le souvenir de l’écrit et le futur de la lecture se situe la parole mnémonique, défense et message ultime de la femme ovidienne, ainsi récompensée.

This article brings together evidence of the activities of female household members, especially of the domina, in order to locate their actions and movements within the domus and to question the existence of separate women’s rooms or quarters. The discussion centres on representations of Roman women in textual and visual sources in comparison to ‘everyday life’ as partially reflected by the archaeological records from Pompeian houses. The aim of this comparison is to overcome the frequently mentioned desideratum of investigating the spatial relationship between different household members: Whereas previous scholarship has focused mainly on the person of the dominus and localised his activities, such as salutationes and convivia, in certain room types, the ‘female sphere of action’ has not sufficiently been investigated. Information regarding the whereabouts of women (as well as children and slaves) in the house is relatively sparse in the ancient sources and has therefore found little discussion by modern scholars. The present article strives to bring together all available types of sources and methods on female household activities and their locations.
The article is two-fold, as reflected in the title: The first part is a collection of sources on typical female activities and role-models; the second part tries to confront these ideals and clichés with ancient ‘reality’ and presents approaches to locate women within the Roman house. Following the Introduction (I) on the current state of research, Section II explains the general ideological connection of women with the domestic sphere as reflected in literary sources. Section III is a collection of literary, epigraphic and archaeological sources which represent jewellery, cosmetics, spindles and wool baskets as typical female attributes. These symbols – underlying social conventions and expectations – illustrate beauty care and wool-working as topoi of traditional female household activities. Section IV presents different methods and material that had formerly been applied to spatial investigations of Roman houses: In Section IV.1, literary anecdotes regarding women’s rooms are assembled; it is argued here that no consistent terminology exists for rooms used by women. Section IV.2 gives an account of attempts by various scholars to identify women’s quarters in several Pompeian houses on the basis of architecture together with wall and floor decorations. These interpretations have clearly developed in accordance with modern perceptions of Roman housing and of the isolation of the domina, her daughters, guests and other females in rooms removed from the main area of the domus. Section IV.3 introduces artefact distribution analysis as the only method available to determine ‘small-scale, short-term activities’ and thereby to come closer to daily life. Here, the distribution of objects established above as being (at least traditionally) the attributes of women in the sources is examined based on the research of P. M. Allison. Despite the many methodological difficulties which artefact distribution analysis in Pompeii presents, the finds indicate a flexible use of rooms rather than separate women’s quarters. There is not only evidence for the coexistence of diverse activities within the house and its single rooms, but also for the concentrated storage of various domestic items, especially in atria. In most cases, large cupboards and chests with mixed assemblages also contained valuable items (such as female jewellery) and could have functioned as show-pieces. Together with finds of loom weights, the objects show the symbolic presence of women, mainly the domina, in the ‘first place of the house‘ (Cornelius Nepos). This supports the practical and symbolic role of the domina as centre of the household. Altogether, the textual sources as well as the archaeological evidence reflect the open and unrestricted movement of female household members throughout the house and put to rest the idea of separate women’s rooms.

This work was intended to study the character of Boudica, a Briton Queen from the Iceni tribe, who led an army against the Roman Empire during the first century before Christ. Boudica is currently held as a polyvalent symbol to the British and she is also stored in their collective memory. The warrior Queen was a feminine representation to powerful women in England, such as Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria, and her image was utilized by suffragists as a fighting insignia, as well as a national reproduction.
Tacitus and Cassius Dio described her image at first hand, in the Antiquity. The first author mentioned that, since she was a woman, the government and the leadership did not suit her. Meanwhile, for the second author she was psychologically and physically represented as a masculinized woman, who had the voice, the size and the weapons of a man.
However, the information and the writing of the ancient writers were used in the posterity for other artistic works, such as plays, sculptures, books, pictures, politician works and even cartoons, which involved the feminine figure of Boudica, although these works no longer placed the social conception relating those women to the figure of Boudica.
Furthermore, this study demonstrates how the Nineteenth and the beginning of the Twentieth century used this image and how it was legitimized by means of a material culture, which is constituted of statues located at the cities of London, Cardiff and Colchester, as well as of a Stained Glass window, which is displayed in the Town Hall of the last city. Nevertheless, the validation of the warrior queen by the governmental power was given by the ‘tradition’ concept, in vogue then, to national purposes. Thus, the British utilized the symbols, such as flags, anthems and even a personification of the nation to conceive their own homeland. Such reproductions were linked to government practices, had their own values and rules, were easily accepted by the people and had a connection with the past (Hobsbawm, 1993).
Although Boudica has been remembered for almost five centuries and turned into a familiar figure to the English, it does not mean that historians and archaeologists know much about her. On the other hand, it was found, through interviews done in the museums of Norwich, Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery, of Colchester, Colchester Castle Museum, of London, Museum of London and of St. Albans, Verulamium Museum, that she is still alive in the collective memory of the British.
Thus, it is concluded that the present study had as essence the uses of the past before Boudica, as well as her importance and meaning. And also that objects, patrimonies, statues, pictures and constructions are rooted in the culture and in the history of a group or a nation and are surrounded by feelings, memory, honor, nostalgia and power.

differing visions of the nation state. Moreover, as Sangster points out, ‘the path to the ballot box included gains and losses, inclusions and exclusions, depending on where women were situated within the nation’ (p. 3). The fragmented way in which the vote was won in Canada and the exclusion of Indigenous peoples and other racialized and ethnically marginalized people from the franchise into the postwar era reveals a long-standing history of intolerance and how such intolerance was justified. Such lessons are timely and should be heeded. Sangster acknowledges that her work is an entrée into the broader literature and historical debates about women’s suffrage in Canada and an invitation to investigate the topic further. She notes the challenges inherent in writing a national overview when the provinces long determined voter eligibility and when local cultures and political economies often led to regional differences in the movement based on ‘the precipitating causes, organizational character, and ideological tenor’ (p. 273). Despite this disclaimer, however, the book constructs an engaging and coherent national story of a suffrage movement that was often built around a nationalist vision of progress that privileged the dominant groups and ideologies (mainly white, British, propertied classes), but also included dissenting voices who challenged the status quo. The length, format, and accessibility of the text will encourage a broader readership, but this book will be especially useful for women’s studies or history courses on the subject, and it should also serve as a valuable resource for scholars already engaged in the study of women’s political participation in Canada and abroad.

This paper aims to reassess the role of sister- and siblinghood in the fragmentary 'Tereus' of Sophocles, a play unusual in its dramatization of a close and collaborative relationship between two sisters. The plot hinges on their recognition and reunion, and the all-female bond of sisterhood is shown to outweigh both wife-husband and mother-son obligations. Finally, a close reading of three fragments suggests that the play was characterized by the language and imagery of siblinghood, reflecting the thematic centrality of sisterhood to this tragedy.

This article examines children's cognomina in the inscriptions of Roman Hispania that are derived from the name of the mother. Seven naming patterns are identified and documented with epigraphic examples. These include names that are formed from the mother's cognomen, with or without a suffix, names formed from the mother's nomen gentilicium, and cognomina that are cognate with the mother's name.

This work aims to highlight the existence of a woman from Antiquity, called Agrippina the Elder, and to raise a criticism of androcentrism of that time, in the face of her attitudes. To this end, in this paper, there is a demonstration of how written sources describe her, as well as her importance in the past through coins.

Filha de Ptolomeu I e Berenice I, Arsínoe II Filadelfo (317-270 AEC) foi uma princesa
macedônica, nascida no Egito, no século III, que teria se destacado exercendo funções políticas.
Arsínoe teria se casado consecutivamente com Lisímaco, Ptolomeu Cerauno e Ptolomeu II,
fazendo dela, enquanto esses casamentos duraram, rainha da Trácia, da Macedônia e do Egito.
Depois da morte de Lisímaco e do segundo casamento, malsucedido, com Ptolomeu Cerauno,
que matou dois de seus filhos, Arsínoe retornou ao Egito e se casou com Ptolomeu II, seu irmão.
Em decorrência do último casamento, Arsínoe II terminou seus dias desfrutando de grande
riqueza e segurança como rainha do Egito, exercendo funções políticas ao lado de Ptolomeu II.
Essa posição incomum se comparada às outras rainhas helenísticas, despertou na historiografia
certo interesse quanto à autoridade político-social de Arsínoe II, ora destacando o seu poder
como governante, ora refutando essa hipótese, ao considerá-la só mais uma mulher real.
Inserida nesse debate, a dissertação analisa a trajetória de vida de Arsínoe II e discute as
possibilidades e limitações da sua agência pública e privada em meio à dominação masculina.
A dissertação questiona a divisão sexual de tarefas, propondo o exercício de poder por Arsínoe,
enquanto desafia as tentativas de minimizar sua importância à História de Gênero.

Daughter of Ptolemy I and Berenice I, Arsínoe II Filadelfo (317-270 BC) was a Macedonian
princess, born in Egypt in the third century, who would have excelled in political functions.
Arsínoe would have been married consecutively to Lysimachus, Ptolemy Keraunos and
Ptolemy II, making her, while these marriages lasted, queen of Thrace, of Macedonia and of
Egypt. After the death of Lysimachus and the second marriage, unsuccessful, with Ptolemy
Keraunos, who killed two of her sons, Arsínoe returned to Egypt and married her brother
Ptolemy II. Due to the last marriage, Arsínoe finished her days enjoying great wealth and
security like queen of Egypt, maybe exerting political functions next to Ptolemy II. This unusual
position, compared to the other Hellenistic queens, aroused in historiography a certain interest
in the political-social authority of Arsínoe II, sometimes emphasizing her power as ruler,
sometimes refuting this hypothesis. In this debate, the dissertation analyzes the individual
trajectory of Arsínoe II and discusses the possibilities and limitations of his public and private
performance in the midst of male domination. The dissertation questions the sexual division of
tasks, proposing the existence of a power of Arsínoe, while challenging the attempts to
minimize its importance to Gender History.

Breve estudio sobre una botella cerámica de producción africana procedente de los niveles tardoantoninos de la domus de la Fortuna de Carthago Nova (Cartagena). La pieza reproduce un motivo iconográfico bien conocido en época grecorromana: la anus ebria.

Perfumed oils were used widely in the Roman world. These goods
were at first an aristocratic item, but this situation changed at the end of Late Roman Republic age, when a more wide spread trade began. The Saeculum Augustum led to a “democratization” of perfume and jewelry, the called ornamenta muliebria. Its production was increasingly characterized by massive trade. Roman women bought these luxury goods for pleasure, medical purposes and for making the external appearance of their social status. Thus, a critical analysis shows us that the unguenta had more than a hygienic function. They clearly indicated wealthy, rank and merit. This study evaluates, through ancient texts, inscriptions and archeological remains, the cultural and economic importance of perfume in the Roman society.

O objetivo deste trabalho é destacar a personagem Fúlvia, uma mulher da República de Roma, que foi casada com Marco Antônio, e que muitas vezes foi esquecida. Ela liderou tropas e teve força para administrar os negócios de seu marido, enquanto ele estava longe. O artigo mostra que Fúlvia foi atrelada a deusas bélicas em sua iconografia monetária, incorporando a personificação de Vitória/Nike e trazendo consigo Atena ocasionalmente.

La exhibición de los pechos por la madre ante el hijo que no escucha, apelando a la autoridad materna o a la súplica, se puede hallar, también en la Edad Media, en diversos contextos, fundamentalmente en representaciones del Juicio Final y de la Matanza de los Inocentes. En este trabajo se prueba que, además de en representaciones iconográficas y literarias, este gesto de descubrir las mamas ante el hijo (o los jóvenes soldados) también se utilizó en la vida cotidiana en el siglo XV.

ABSTRACT: This lecture covers a wide range of topics regarding Old Kingdom Egyptian society and other aspects.  It discusses and addresses what features distinguish the king, queen, nobility, officials, and peasants (i.e., regalia/garments; lifestyle; duties; housing; tombs; and interrelations); what similarities and differences occur between male and female roles in Old Kingdom society (i.e., positions? duties? education?); how reliable are ancient textual-pictorial sources (which reflect the perspective of the scribes, artists, and the elite patrons commissioning them) for portraying themselves, lower classes, foreigners & other data? What sorts of things did the lower classes do in Old Kingdom society? What other, less biased evidence can we draw upon for reconstructing Old Kingdom society and related aspects? Did the Old Kingdom really have slaves? Did slaves build the pyramids? Can we discern a gradation of “freedom(s)” from POWs to serfs and others?  Is there evidence for a moral code (ethics) in Old Kingdom society? (i.e., How did society encourage its members to behave well? [afterlife judgement]). How did the Old Kingdom state maintain law and order? Was it successful? Is there evidence for a fairness in treatment to all classes? (theory vs. reality?); How did Old Kingdom Egypt interact with its neighbours? Friends & foes?

The lecture addresses the aforementioned questions and topics, providing an overview in the following sections during the Old Kingdom (and some pertinent later periods/examples): (1). Social structure, from pharaoh to peasants & POWs; (2). Society and women in Ancient Egypt; (3). Slavery and slaves in Ancient Egypt (see also foreigners below); (4). Across classes: an example of interactions between officials; (5). Ancient Egyptian society and economy: a. Agriculture: farming and herding; b. The private sector: trade and exchange; c. Craftsmen: wide range of industries; d. Trends in arts and crafts; (6). Moral codes, laws, and punishment; (7). settlements: Examples of various types of urban settings; (8). Egyptian views about foreigners (including POWs); and (9). International relations: adjacent regions, peoples, and kingdoms.  The lecture ends with a series of summary notes on these topics.  UPDATED: 24 Feb. 2023. Bibliographic and other additions.

This article explores the tactile poetics of the Aeneid and their potential for feminist readings of the poem. From Amata to Dido and Venus, tactility is connected to volatile feminine bodies and irrational, pathologized emotions. At the same time, Vergil also uses touch as a device for the intimate transmission of affect between poem and a reader, a way of engaging our bodily senses and “touching” our minds (mentem tangere). Yet the postcritical focus on affect has often been critiqued as lacking feminist political bite. Does reading the Aeneid for sensual and affective intimacy preclude coolly detached critique of its power structures?

ITALIANO Dopo una breve introduzione riguardante le caratteristiche principali della filosofia pitagorica femminile e degli scritti pervenutici (fonti antiche e moderne), questo lavoro si propone di mettere in luce il frammento di un trattato di Esara di Lucania intitolato Sulla Natura Umana (Stob. 1.49.27), che si distingue dal resto dei testi femminili della stessa scuola per la sua natura filosofica. Esso propone infatti una ricca analisi della struttura dell'anima umana, concepita come tripartita, che presenta numerose affinità e alcune differenze con l'anima platonica (nella fattispecie Repubblica e Timeo). La ricerca si concentra sull'analisi dei suoi contenuti, presentando anche le ipotesi avanzate da studiose e studiosi per ciò che concerne la sua difficile datazione e l'identità incerta della sua autrice. FRANÇAIS Après une brève introduction portant sur les caractéristiques essentielles de la philosophie telle que pratiquée par des femmes de l'école de Pythagore ainsi que sur la manière dont leurs écrits nous sont parvenus (sources anciennes et sources modernes), ce travail propose de mettre en lumière le fragment d'un traité d'Aesara de Lucanie intitulé 'Sur la Nature Humaine' (Stob. 1.49.27), qui se distingue du reste des textes féminins de la même école par sa nature philosophique. Il propose en effet une analyse très riche de la structure de l'âme humaine, conçue de façon tripartite, et présentant de nombreuses affinités et quelques différences avec l'âme platonicienne (voir notamment République et Timée). Il s'agit d'aborder et de discuter ses contenus, mais aussi de présenter les hypothèses émises par la suite tant sur sa difficile datation que sur l'identité incertaine de son auteure.

The proposal of this article is to reflect on woman in the ancient society, especially from Britannia, during the arrival and presence of the Roman Empire in the province. This was not a homogeneous group. In fact, for both people, who had settled there and those who came later, there was a great variety of ideas about Roman and Briton women status and how they should lead their lives. Materials about them were found epigraphically, on altars, tombstones and burials. This work compared these sources with the work of Tacitus, Annals, since this author always seems to place women with pejorative characteristics, very different from the words of affection given to them in these places of death.

The OUP series Women in Antiquity, which Watts' book is a part of, aims to provide " compact and accessible introductions " to the life and times its various individul subjects. Watts has accomplished this aim well with his new book. In it, he goes beyond introduction and presents us with a bold new account of this indeed remarkable woman and her achievements. The chief claim of the book is this: we not only do Hypatia (ca. 355–415) a disservice, but more importantly we impoverish our understanding of the late antique world, if we focus on her death at the expense of her life.