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. Buchan brings her two main characters to life as the story evolves and Lottie delves deeper into the mysteries surrounding Nina. There are unexpected twists adding suspense to the story. These captivating protagonists add depth as their personalities and relationships develop. Overall, I really like Elizabeth Buchan’s books. She has a way of pulling you into a storyline in a very compelling way particularly in this clever thriller. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it to thriller fans. a b c d Bauman, Richard (1992). Women and Politics in Ancient Rome. New York, New York: Routledge. pp.8, 10, 15, 105.

Women in the Roman World The Role of Women in the Roman World

Forsythe, A Critical History of Early Rome, p. 136, based on Festus on the ordo sacerdotum (hierarchy of priests), 198 in the edition of Lindsay. Maesia's ability to present a case "methodically and vigorously" suggests that while women didn't plead regularly in open court, they had experience in private declamation and family court. [49] Afrania, [50] the wife of a senator during the time of Sulla, appeared so frequently before the praetor who presided over the court, even though she had male advocates who could have spoken for her, that she was accused of calumnia, malicious prosecution. An edict was consequently enacted that prohibited women from bringing claims on behalf of others, on the grounds that it jeopardized their pudicitia, the modesty appropriate to one's station. [51] It has been noted [52] that while women were often impugned for their feeblemindedness and ignorance of the law, and thus in need of protection by male advocates, in reality actions were taken to restrict their influence and effectiveness. Despite this specific restriction, there are numerous examples of women taking informed actions in legal matters in the Late Republic and Principate, including dictating legal strategy to their advocate behind the scenes. [53] These highly public official duties for women contradict the commonplace notion that women in ancient Rome took part only in private or domestic religion. The dual male-female priesthoods may reflect the Roman tendency to seek a gender complement within the religious sphere; [147] most divine powers are represented by both a male and a female deity, as seen in divine pairs such as Liber and Libera. [148] The twelve major gods were presented as six gender-balanced pairs, [149] and Roman religion departed from Indo-European tradition in installing two goddesses in its supreme triad of patron deities, Juno and Minerva along with Jupiter. This triad "formed the core of Roman religion." [150] Mosaic depicting masked actors in a play: two women consult a "witch" or private diviner First of I have something to confess. One year my mother requested from me for her birthday a book by Elizabeth Buchan. I became a fan of Elizabeth Buchan books since the day I Valerius Maximus 8.3.1; Joseph Farrell, Latin Language and Latin Culture (Cambridge University Press, 2001), pp. 74–75; Michael C. Alexander, Trials in the Late Roman Republic, 149–50 BCE (University of Toronto Press, 1990), p. 180. Alexander places the date of the trial, about which Valerius is unclear, to sometime between 80 and 50 BCE. The charge goes unrecorded.

in French) Gérard Minaud, Les vies de 12 femmes d’empereur romain - Devoirs, Intrigues & Voluptés , Paris, L’Harmattan, 2012. Catharine Edwards, "Unspeakable Professions: Public Performance and Prostitution in Ancient Rome," in Roman Sexualities (Princeton University Press, 1997), pp. 66ff. Eva Cantarella, "Marriage and Sexuality in Republican Rome: A Roman Conjugal Love Story," in The Sleep of Reason: Erotic Experience and Sexual Ethics in Ancient Greece and Rome (University of Chicago Press, 2002), p. 276.

Women Play in Ancient Rome? - HISTORY What Role Did Women Play in Ancient Rome? - HISTORY

According to the Historia Augusta the emperor Elagabalus had his mother or grandmother take part in Senate proceedings. [130] The author regarded this as one of Elagabalus's many scandals, and reported that the Senate's first act upon his death was to restore the ban on attendance by women. According to the same work, Elagabalus also established a women's senate called the senaculum, which enacted very detailed rules prescribing the correct public behaviour, jewelry, clothing, chariots and sundry personal items for matrons. This apparently built upon previous, less formal but exclusive meetings of elite wives; and before that, Agrippina the Younger, mother of Nero, had listened to Senate proceedings, while concealed behind a curtain, according to Tacitus ( Annales, 13.5). Despite her devotion to weaving and other feminine pursuits, Livia drew harsh criticism. Roman historian Tacitus damned her for posterity in his Annals as “a real catastrophe to the nation” who exercised so much control over an aging Augustus that “he exiled his only surviving grandson.” Before long, she gained the reputation of having not only poisoned Augustus’s grandsons but the emperor himself. Hallet, Judith (1984). Fathers and Daughters in Roman Society. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University. pp.8, 10. Beryl Rawson, "The Roman Family," in The Family in Ancient Rome: New Perspectives (Cornell University Press, 1986), p. 18.A daughter was expected to be deferential toward her father and to remain loyal to him, even if it meant having to disagree with her husband's actions. [40] For some, "deference" was not always absolute. After arranging his daughter's first two marriages, Cicero disapproved — rightly, as it turned out — of her choice to marry the unreliable Dolabella, but found himself unable to prevent it. [41]