Pompei Women

However, Valerius, like Cato, associates women with matters that are less substantial and not entirely connected to the empire as a whole. “No offices, no priesthoods, no triumphs, no decorations, no gifts, no spoils of war can come to them; elegance of appearance, adornment, apparel-these are the woman’s badges of honor.” The apparent connection between women and appearance shows that women in Roman society were something to be looked at or shown off. Women were the prizes of men and the better they looked or the more they had been directly linked to his status in society.

Women in Ancient Rome enjoyed a slightly better life than those in Ancient Greece. Roman men "placed a very high value on marriage, home and the family and this made quite a difference to society's treatment of women" (Thompson, 2005). Women still were passed from their father's supervision to their husbands, but enjoyed a more important role. While women could not hold

Most women in ancient Rome were viewed as possessions of the men who they lived

Women had very different rights in Republican Rome to their male counterparts, and although they could be classified as citizens and could play certain roles in Roman religion, they were unable to participate in many of the activities that clearly defined a Roman, such as military service, voting on legislation and candidates for office, and holding and elective position either locally or at Rome. It was also considered anomalous for women to be in learned professions, so female teachers and poets were ignored, which means that the only evidence that we have for women in this period comes from what men have written about them, either in poetry, histories or where they are concerned in laws. This means that when studying women of this time it must be considered that the sole perspective that has survived is male, and that the thoughts of the women themselves are not represented at all, therefore it could be argued that women, in general, played a very small role in the world of Roman politics and intellectual culture.

The Roman woman had a very limited role and they could not attend, speak in, or vote at political meetings. Women were not allowed to hold any position of political responsibility. They were not allowed to voice their opinion in public but in the Greek society, the woman was considered just like an object.

In today’s society, we as women often take for granted the rights, freedoms, and equality we share with men that women in the ancient world were not granted. As all civilisations in the ancient world exercised different treatment towards, this essay will illustrate a few comparisons in the status of women during ancient Egypt with women during ancient Rome. Academic sources will be relied on to provide the necessary actualities when one considers ancient civilizations. The legal status of women in society, the domestic atmospheres and roles that each unique region’s women held, and the possible occupations available to these women, will be discussed.

Women in the Hellenistic world were held in regard than women in the Classical Age. Female infanticide declined, royal women often wielded power, and female education improved, although women remained under the supervision of men with fewer rights and

Greco-Roman mythology displays a tendency toward depicting women as either radically weak and submissive or radically monstrous. In this way, Greco-Roman mythology reflects the ambiguous position of women in Greek and Roman societies. Female weakness reflects the overwhelming power of men, while monstrousness and rage seem the only ways women can rebel against the existing social order.

To understand Roman views for women drinking we must understand women’s role in Roman society, better yet, their position in society. Women were dominated by the males in their life; their fathers, their relatives, and their husbands. Women had no identity of their own besides being a daughter, and a wife. Their fathers had absolute control over their lives and women were completely dominated that the Fathers could sell them into slavery or force them into

Ancient Roman women were not given the same privileges as Islamic women. Women in ancient Rome were not allowed to hold office, supervise their own finances, or go out of the house

The title of Sarah B. Pomeroy's book on women in antiquity is a summary of the main categories of females in the literary imagination and the societies of ancient Greece and Rome, over a period of fifteen hundred years. Beginning with goddesses, Pomery retells some Greek myths, outlining the social functions of female Olympians – the goddesses are archetypical images of human females, as envisioned by males. Desirable characteristics among a number of females rather than their concentration in one being are appropriate to a patriarchal society. Demosthenes states in the fourth century B.C. this ideal among mortal men, "We have mistresses for our enjoyment, concubines to serve our person and wives for the bearing of legitimate children (Pomery 1995)." Pomery’s goal in writing this book was to detail and outline the true significance of women in all other their roles in antiquity.

One theory is that men were the dominant sex and women, unless left a business by a father or husband upon death, would typically distribute political material or be prostitutes. This encouraged the idea that when men were left to decorate their habitat uninhibited by a woman’s “touch” they would surely turn their homes into dens of indecency .The debunker of this theory is that many frescoes were on the outer walls of homes or other public places. This could suggest that sex was viewed by the general populace as joyful and commonly accepted as a part of everyday life. In fact Pompeii might be compared to Las Vegas, a “sin city”. Pompeii was a vacation hotspot for the likes of Nero and Augustus as well as high ranking aristocrats. The phallus was openly employed in stone work and tiles along public roads to point the way to brothels. Door knockers were sexualized gladiators at battle with ferocious animals emerging from the tips of their penises. Pan the half man half goat god of nature was often depicted having sex with wild animals. In essence the city of Pompeii was very open about their sexuality and the enjoyment of the act fulfilled. (One can see why women tourists were not allowed to enter Pompeii until the second half of the twentieth

The Roman city Pompeii has provided history with many artifacts, scriptures, and mythology from the First Century c.e. The components of life from this time period have become the building blocks of today’s modern society. The great empires have provided the base for government, military, and industrialization. It has also provided the basic composition of roles a man and woman will play in the hierarchy and structures of early society. Exploring the artwork’s landscape, portraits, and scenes will provide a better understanding of the roles of sexes and the superiority of men in Pompeii’s socioeconomic and religious culture.

This is evident in the way that women were referred to in conversation as they were called aste (city woman) rather than the feminine form of citizen which was politis (Just 1989: 21). Furthermore, women's subservient status is also demonstrated in the common practice during formal speech of specifying women by their relationships with men. Wives remained in the house for the majority of the time and did not perform strenuous activity as the procreation of a son was all-important (http//:www.perseus.tufts.edu/classes/JKp.html). Another example of the inferior status of women is the fact that adultery was a more serious crime than rape as it

During the time period of the early Roman Empire, and through the early times of Octavian, it is important to note the roles that each sex played. Unlike current western culture, men and women were not equal. Each sex was thought of differently, with women being less than men. According to Severy, the Romans thought of the Roman women as “weakness, instability, and irrationality” (Severy 23). These viewpoints of women lead to women being treated in way that was subservient to men. According to Severy, in contrast, the Romans thought of men as “strength, integrity, and self-control” (Severy 23). This thought process lead to men being in positions of power and control and ultimately the decision makers. This was so much the case that women had to have a male guardian to go out with them during major purchases to verify that was what was supposed to be bought at points (Severy 23). This thought process bled into the