Two Women in Rome

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John R. Clarke, Looking at Lovemaking: Constructions of Sexuality in Roman Art 100 B.C.–A.D. 250 (University of California Press, 1998, 2001), p. 34. Lottie Archer arrives in Rome excited to begin her new job as an archivist. When she discovers a valuable fifteenth-century painting, she is drawn to find out more about the woman who left it behind, Nina Lawrence. The rise of Augustus to sole power in the last decades of the 1st century BCE diminished the power of political officeholders and the traditional oligarchy, but did nothing to diminish and arguably increased the opportunities for women, as well as slaves and freedmen, to exercise influence behind the scenes. [127] [43] Augustus' wife, Livia Drusilla Augusta (58 BCE – CE 29), was the most powerful woman in the early Roman Empire, acting several times as regent and consistently as a faithful advisor. Several women of the Imperial family, such as Livia's great-granddaughter and Caligula's sister Agrippina the Younger, gained political influence as well as public prominence.

Two Women in Rome by Elizabeth Buchan | Waterstones

Tea Cooper has woven an engaging tale around the life story of Francis Greenaway and his wife Mary. Her research and understanding of the times […] As in the case of minors, an emancipated woman had a legal guardian ( tutor) appointed to her. She retained her powers of administration, however, and the guardian's main if not sole purpose was to give formal consent to actions. [56] The guardian had no say in her private life, and a woman sui iuris could marry as she pleased. [57] A woman also had certain avenues of recourse if she wished to replace an obstructive tutor. [58] Under Augustus, a woman who had gained the ius liberorum, the legal right to certain privileges after bearing three children, was also released from guardianship, [59] and the emperor Claudius banned agnatic guardianship. The role of guardianship as a legal institution gradually diminished, and by the 2nd century CE the jurist Gaius said he saw no reason for it. [60] The Christianization of the Empire, beginning with the conversion of the Emperor Constantine in the early 4th century, eventually had consequences for the legal status of women.

Separate Beds

Stephen L. Dyson, Rome: A Living Portrait of an Ancient City (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2010), p. 283. A concubine was defined by Roman law as a woman living in a permanent monogamous relationship with a man not her husband. [84] There was no dishonor in being a concubine or living with a concubine, and a concubine could become a wife. [85] Gifts could be exchanged between the partners in concubinage, in contrast to marriage, which maintained a more defined separation of property. Ariadne Staples, From Good Goddess to Vestal Virgins: Sex and Category in Roman Religion (Routledge, 1998), p. 184.

Two Women in Rome by Elizabeth Buchan | Waterstones Two Women in Rome by Elizabeth Buchan | Waterstones

Larissa Bonfante, "Nursing Mothers in Classical Art," in Naked Truths: Women, Sexuality, and Gender in Classical Art and Archaeology (Routledge, 1997, 2000), pp. 174ff. Roman religion was male-dominated but there were notable exceptions where women took a more public role such as the priestesses of Isis (in the Imperial period) and the Vestals. These latter women, the Vestal Virgins, served for 30 years in the cult of Vesta and they participated in many religious ceremonies, even performing sacrificial rites, a role typically reserved for male priests. There were also several female festivals such as the Bona Dea and some city cults, for example, of Ceres. Women also had a role to play in Judaism and Christianity but, once again, it would be men who debated what that role might entail. The Other Women Main article: Marriage in ancient Rome Roman couple in the ceremonial joining of hands; the bride's knotted belt symbolized that her husband was "belted and bound" to her. [61] 4th century sarcophagusThe past cannot remain hidden and, in the end, Lottie uncovers more than she bargained for. Is anyone who they appear to be? The Vatican appears to want Lottie to cease her enquiries but she cannot comprehend whether this is for religious or more sinister reasons. Canadian flautist Ron Korb has been joined by Cuban pianist Hilario Duran to create a catchy, up-beat Jazz Fusion sound in Havana Sun, as only […]

Two Women in Rome, by Elizabeth Buchan - Aspects of History Two Women in Rome, by Elizabeth Buchan - Aspects of History

Cinctus vinctusque, according to Festus 55 (edition of Lindsay); Karen K. Hersch, The Roman Wedding: Ritual and Meaning in Antiquity (Cambridge University Press, 2010), pp. 101, 110, 211 . An emancipated woman legally became sui iuris, or her own person, and could own property and dispose of it as she saw fit. If a pater familias died intestate, the law required the equal division of his estate amongst his children, regardless of their age and sex. A will that did otherwise, or emancipated any family member without due process of law, could be challenged. [54] From the late Republic onward, a woman who inherited a share equal with her brothers would have been independent of agnatic control. [55] Left image: A young woman sits while a servant fixes her hair with the help of a cupid, who holds up a mirror to offer a reflection, detail of a fresco from the Villa of the Mysteries, Pompeii, c. 50 BC The educated and well-traveled Vibia Sabina (ca. 136 AD) was a grand-niece of the emperor Trajan and became the wife of his successor Hadrian; unlike some empresses, she played little role in court politics and remained independent in private life, having no children and seeking emotional gratification in love affairs [1] Part of a series on

Light of the Moon

Thomas AJ McGinn, Prostitution, Sexuality and the Law in Ancient Rome, Oxford University Press, 1998, p. 293 The Hippocratic view that amenorrhea was fatal became by Roman times a specific issue of infertility, and was recognized by most Roman medical writers as a likely result when women engage in intensive physical regimens for extended periods of time. Balancing food, exercise, and sexual activity came to be regarded as a choice that women might make. The observation that intensive training was likely to result in amenorrhea implies that there were women who engaged in such regimens. [184] A few priesthoods were held jointly by married couples. Marriage was a requirement for the Flamen Dialis, the high priest of Jupiter; his wife, the Flaminica Dialis, had her own unique priestly attire, and like her husband was placed under obscure magico-religious prohibitions. The flaminica was a perhaps exceptional case of a woman performing animal sacrifice; she offered a ram to Jupiter on each of the nundinae, the eight-day Roman cycle comparable to a week. [143] The couple were not permitted to divorce, and if the flaminica died the flamen had to resign his office.