Same and honor culture was especially oppressive for women in ancient roman society. Lucretia’s story is one that perfectly demonstrates how sexist shame and honor culture was. Lucretia was a model women who was forced into a terrible situation and, because of the culture and beliefs she was forced to obey, thought her only choice was to kill herself after being forced to sleep with another man. Why is this thought so one-sided? Why did Lucretia feel that it was better to kill herself then stay with her family? Shame and honor culture is so oppressive to women and give men a lot more room to do whatever they want with little to no consequences for similar actions. Lucretia was a strong women who was loved by her family. She was a model women in the Roman society. She stayed home, took care of her children, and always weaved. One night after a dinner party she was forced by Sextus …show more content…
Honor seems to be what others think of you. Shame and honor culture is determined by others and not yourself. Lucretia’s husband and family knew she was innocent and because of this they still wanted her to be with them. By killing herself she left her family behind to take care of themselves. This is not something that a model wife would do in a roman house. By taking herself away from her family she could’ve shamed herself more than Tarquin did. Shame and honor culture is highly oppressive to women and give men so much more room to do whatever they want with little to no consequences for similar actions. Men could do many things that women would get killed for and could even be the cause for a woman’s death such as Lucretia’s case. Shame and honor is highly influenced by rules in society and could judged upon by others. Lucretia’s situation is caused by these sexist rules of shame and honor culture. Perhaps if these rules were less one sided she may have thought of herself differently and stay alive for her
...ughters. Both women become a representation of the ideal women in Roman society. Both Lucretia and Verginia placed the value of their own reputation in Roman society and honour of their family before their own lives. They symbolized the tragedy that can befallen good individuals when immoral men who placed their own desires above those of their fellow citizens or duty to their city. Without the heroics of Lucretia and Verginia many of the principle traditional values of Romans would be not possible. These contributions prove that even the smallest actions of a single individual can have some of most drastic and the largest repercussions and influence in changing and forming the function and traditional of an entire empire as great as Rome.
Lucretia and Dido are both viewed as ideal Roman women. The story of Lucretia is found in Livy’s Early History of Rome, while Dido is written about in The Aeneid by Virgil. By looking at Roman values, the story of Lucretia, the story of Dido, their similarities and differences, a background of Livy and Virgil, as well as the similarities and differences of Virgil and Livy’s views toward them, Dido and Lucretia can be seen as exemplary Roman women.
Honor can be defined by how one holds them in the public eye. Others may say that honor is how you live your life when none can see your actions. However defined honor can play major roles in how a person will act in a given situation. The Crucible by Arthur Miller has excellent examples of how honor can manipulate people’s decisions in times of importance. John proctor holds his moral standpoint and does not falter into the temptations of selfishness, while Elizabeth would describe honor as how a person lives their lives. Some can even describe honor as what is most important in life; family. Giles believed that his life was the ultimate object he could sacrifice to maintain his family’s happiness. However honor can be defined, one thing is certain; Everyone has some degree of honor in their lives.
Lysistrata is portrayed as a typical commander of war that gives orders and does not take part in the war. While being the mastermind behind the sex strike, she is able to separate her self from the other women in her ability to resist her attraction for men. The women are used as pawns by this cunning and powerful, Lysistrata, who is victorious in establishing peace in Greece.
Men and women throughout history are remembered for their selflessness, compassion and dedication to their people; their honorable qualities are clear in the minds of many. The word “honor” brings to mind a numerous people: Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. and Franklin Delano Roosevelt are a few of the thousands at hand. However, honor is a subjective term; occasionally deeds which are socially unacceptable are deemed to be admirable under the circumstances, such as Brutus’ murder of Julius Caesar. One woman in French history, Charlotte Corday, has a similar story. Although she is infamous for nothing but her murder of an French Revolutionary leader, she, like Brutus, was truly an honorable individual.
Many articles in learned journals refer to Livy’s rape of the Sabine women as a myth, but I believe a kernel of truth shines through this supposed fiction to reveal how the aggressive and selfish character of the early Romans imposed themselves on the lives of unknowing, innocent Sabine women. In 715 BC, Rome was experiencing rapid expansion so Romulus, the current leader, faced a problem in his ambition to increase the population. There existed no intermarriage among neighboring communities and consequently, the Romans felt resentful. Due to a shortage of woman, the Romans actually faced extinction at this time. So Rome staged a celebration of the Consualia, a festival in honor of Neptune, patron of the horse. Citizens came from nearby towns such as Caenina, Crustumium, Antemnae, and all the Sabines. However, when the show began, all the able-bodied Roman men rushed through the crowd and seized all the young women. As a result, war broke out between the Sabines and the Romans and it was the woman who actually emerged to unite their husbands and fathers, blaming themselves for the war (while they were the true victims). Livy claims that the nature of a women’s heart caused them to sympathize with their husbands, who had kidnapped them and taken them from their homes. “The men, too, played their part: they spoke honeyed words and vowed that it was passionate love which prompted their offense. No plea can better touch a woman’s heart” (Livy 44).
The time is the sixth century, the place is Rome and the person is Lucretia, a woman who contributed to one of the biggest parts of Roman history: the creation of the Roman republic. The rape of the virtuous Lucretia by Sextus Tarquinius, the son of Tarquinius Superbus' (an Etruscan king) was the final straw for the Roman people and pushed them to want to change from a monarchy to a republic. From the accounts of the rape of Lucretia from ancient historians like Livy, Cicero and Dionysius, it is clear that Lucretias rape not only spurred the roman people to want to get rid of the Etruscan King and his family, but also revealed the important role of virtue in women in roman society.
Lucretia was the symbol of chastity, faithfulness, and feminism. The courage of Lucretia was greatly recognized, being that her story is what rallied the Roman’s against their Etruscan kings . Through her story it becomes evident that while women may have been the inferior gender in Rome, they still had the opportunity to be indirectly involved in political and social aspects of the Roman Republic. Further on in Roman times, there becomes more and more instances in which women take on much more responsibility than just the typical domestic obligations of the average
2. Procopius starts this document stating that Theodora is nothing more than a prostitute. He goes on to say that she was not of class or had any dignity, because she would perform on stage almost completely nude. Procopius portrays her as someone who is ruthless and will do whatever she needs to do to accomplish her goals. Justinian would fall in love with her, but was not allowed to marry her because of his social status, because
“Honor is the value of a person in his or her own eyes. Honor is a claim to worth along with social acknowledgement of worth.” (Malina 31) This phrase tells us that honor was extremely important to the ancient people. Honor is a value that was present during many occasions in the play. This value can be seen in Oedipus. He promised the citizens of Thebes that he would find the murderer of Laius and free the lands from the plague. The murderer was to be exiled from Thebes. Oedipus later found out that he himself was the murderer. Even though he was king, he honored the punishment and exiled himself from Thebes. The New Testament states that honor in women meant positive shame. Positive shame is the sensitivity of one 's own reputation. A shameless person is considered a dishonorable woman. Women have to be ashamed and remain shy to avoid human contacts that might expose her to dishonor. (Malina 50) This value can be seen in Jocasta. She feels ashamed when she finds out that her husband Oedipus turned out to be her son. In order to remain honorable, her shame led her to commit
...herself as a man and has misogynistic tendencies. Fortunately, the role of women in society today has changed very much from the roles that they played in classical mythology. Women are now seen as being able to play any role they desire, whether it is the role of a housewife or the role of a workingwoman with a successful career. It is no surprise that achieving the roles that women play today took such a long time when for so long even in mythology women’s roles in society were constantly pushed in the direction of domestics and when for so long women were portrayed as less then pleasant creatures. The fact that these sorts of roles were pushed on women in the Greco-Roman society was proof enough that it was a patriarchal society. It is astoundingly wonderful that the roles that women play in modern society have evolved so much since the times of classical myths.
Honour is often represented by possessions, and, in a way, the possessions are honour itself. Briseis, the girl that was taken from Achilleus, is honour because her movement from one possessor to another is always accompanied by and equal movement of honour. One would think for Agamemnon to lose his prize to a god, an already greater being, would not affect his honour, since his strength compared to other men has not changed. This is true if honour is only based on what is known about a man’s strengths and weaknesses, so the girl herself must be a source of honour.
The ancient Roman tale known as the “Rape (or seizure) of Sabine Women” depicts women, taken against their will by Roman captures and married to Roman men. These women later, intervene in a battle between their new husbands and their angry brothers and fathers. The ancient tale depicts Roman ideology and practices of marriage. It shows how a bride was transferred from living under her father’s jurisdiction to being ruled by her husband. The capture of the Sabine women, the war that follows, and the final truce brought upon the Sabine women themselves are direct relation to the separation of a young bride from her maternal family, the transfer of authority, and her beginning in her new family. The tale is told by two philosophical figures of Roman history. Livy, whom writes about the events in 30 B.C.E and Ovid whom rights about them nearly a generation later1. Both have different views on the event, its meaning, and its relevance. The two men also share the same thoughts in regards to their view masculinity and power.
The third scene of the play gives a glimpse of the women in Coriolanus’s life. This is where you are first introduced to Volumnia, an independent and powerful woman, who deeply wants success for her son. While most parents want success for their children, Volumnia uses Coriolanus to bring glory to herself. Volumnia solely raised Coriolanus and he never truly broke away from her control; Coriolanus will attempt anything his mother suggests, such as running for consul. His mother convinces him to gain favor from the plebeians, something he would clearly not otherwise do, as demonstrated by his disdain for them in scene 1. At the end of the play, she is also the only person who can prevent his attack on Rome, and when she returns to the city, she is exalted as the hero. She is a woman and could not otherwise achieve real honor. To live the life she wanted she lived through her son. By training and teaching her...
From the expansion days of Ancient Rome to the fall of the Roman Empire, women have always succumbed to living subjacent to the status of their omnipotent and dominant male figures. After leaving her childhood home and the rule of her father, a young Roman girl would then be coerced into the dominion of her husband, often taking a plethora of roles, ranging from lover, caretaker, and best friend. It is often lightheartedly stated that, “Behind every great man is an even greater woman,” and William Shakespeare exemplifies this concept beautifully in Julius Caesar, in which he effectively used the spouses of the two main characters to add more depth, drama, and literary elements to the play, bringing it to life. Although the only two female characters in Julius Caesar, Portia and Calpurnia do not play a pivotal role in the overall plot of the story, their presence is vital in illuminating and developing the characters of their husbands, Brutus and Caesar. What they reveal about their husbands leads the reader to infer that Portia is the more admirable and redeeming character.