Women's Roles In Ancient Rome

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Women in Ancient Rome: Their Roles Beyond Reproduction

In the year 195 CE, Roman women took to the streets in protest of an outdated law that limited what they could wear and how they could travel. They crowded the Capitol and blocked many of Rome’s streets. Thousands of women left their homes to make known their distaste for the Oppian Laws and ask their government to repeal the restrictive legislation. After being scolded for their unladylike behavior, they besieged the homes of the tribunes in order to make known their commitment to getting rid of the unjust laws. These women participated in one of the first recorded women’s rights protests in history and are evidence that Roman women played a far more important role in society than simply …show more content…

Despite his adherence to deeply gendered tradition, the stories he relates help detail the fundamental roles women played in the history of the empire. One of the earliest examples of this is found in the account of the Sabine women. This series of events shows the importance of women in forming alliances and linking families, something that could not happen if women were not at least moderately valued. Perhaps most importantly, the intervention of Romulus’ wife, Hersilia, in the battle following the abduction of the Sabine women displays the influence Roman women held within their families. Because these men appreciated and respected their wives and daughters, they listened to their pleas to halt the violence before too many lives were lost. This shows that while women may not have been considered equals, they were not discounted as …show more content…

She was the daughter of the orator Quintus Hortensius and lived during the final years of the Roman Republic. After the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BCE, civil war broke out, causing a significant budget problem for the new triumvirate. In response to their need for money, the government decided to impose a tax on 1,400 wealthy Roman women. Hortensia would not stand for this. She gave a speech in the forum condemning the triumvirs for instituting a tax on these women who neither had representation in their government nor did they have any part in beginning the war. Her words and actions not only convinced the triumvirate to reduce the number of women taxed to 400, but they also included men in their new

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