Roman Women

by Fraschetti, Augusto

• ISBN13: 9780226260945
• ISBN10: 0226260941
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-04-01
• Publisher: Univ of Chicago Pr

Summary

This collection of essays features important Roman women who were active in politics, theater, cultural life, and religion from the first through the fourth centuries. The contributors draw on rare documents in an attempt to reconstruct in detail the lives and accomplishments of these exceptional women, a difficult task considering that the Romans recorded very little about women. They thought it improper for a woman's virtues to be praised outside the home. Moreover, they believed that a feeble intellect, a weakness in character, and a general incompetence prevented a woman from participating in public life. Through this investigation, we encounter a number of idiosyncratic personalities. They include the vestal virgin Claudia; Cornelia, a matron; the passionate Fulvia; a mime known as "Lycoris"; the politician Livia; the martyr and writer Vibia Perpetua; a hostess named Helena Augusta; the intellectual Hypatia; and the saint Melania the Younger. Unlike their silent female counterparts, these women stood out in a culture where it was terribly difficult and odd to do so.

Table of Contents

Translator's Acknowledgments	vi
Introduction	1	(22)
Augusto Fraschetti
Claudia the Vestal Virgin	23	(11)
John Scheid
Cornelia the Matron	34	(32)
corrado Petrocelli
Fulvia the Woman of Passion	66	(16)
Catherine Virlouvet
Lycoris the Mime	82	(18)
Giusto Traina
Livia the Politician	100	(18)
Augusto Fraschetti
Perpetua the Martyr	118	(23)
Emanuela Prinzivalli
Helena Augusta: From Innkeeper to Empress	141	(19)
Franca Ela Consolino
Hapatia the Intellectual	160	(30)
Silvia Ronchey
Melania the Saint	190	(19)
Andrea Giardina
Bibliographic Notes	209	(30)
Index	239