Valerius's Argument Against The Oppian Law

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.

Volumnia’s character in Coriolanus both supports and breaks the normal gender roles and basis of what is feminine and what is masculine. Since Coriolanus’s father is not around, Volumnia plays both parts of a mother and a father in the family. Volumnia raises her son to be masculine and to exude power despite that she is a woman. She sends him to war and does not think about the consequences or hardships he must face. Unlike a regular mother, she loves seeing Coriolanus’s wounds because they represent strength and show his manly struggles. How Volumnia raises Coriolanus is reflective of herself because she thinks that men who do not fight in the war should not be respected by their country, and furthermore, that one is not a “man” but only a boy before going to war. Like his mother, Coriolanus sees the plebeians as cowards because they have done nothing and have not fought in the war. Because of this, Coriolanus believes he is better than them and that they should respect him and not the other way around. Coriolanus’s masculinity makes him all the more powerful-- his violent and aggressive behavior gives him more power than those men who have not fought in war. Evidently, masculinity is a foundation for power and Volumnia has raised her son to adhere to masculine qualities in order for him to be more powerful. By being a man and fighting for Rome, he is to be made council, giving him power to rule over others. Furthermore, Volumnia acts more as a general to a soldier than is

The kind of woman most Roman men wanted was one that was a loving wife that respected her husband and always followed his orders. She was usually expected to stay at home, and did not have much of a role outside the walls of her

Over the course of time, the roles of men and women have changed dramatically. As women have increasingly gained more social recognition, they have also earned more significant roles in society. This change is clearly reflected in many works of literature, one of the most representative of which is Plautus's 191 B.C. drama Pseudolus, in which we meet the prostitute Phoenicium. Although the motivation behind nearly every action in the play, she is glimpsed only briefly, never speaks directly, and earns little respect from the male characters surrounding her, a situation that roughly parallels a woman's role in Roman society of that

As a woman in Roman society, Theodora would have been married and her life controlled by her husband. As a woman in the imperial court, Theodora’s power and influence over the general public would have been restricted. Even with the limited public influence, there were ways for women to demonstrate authority. One of the most common and traditional ways that women demonstrated power in the sixth century was imperial patronage. Imperial patronage could include ‘building a home for the poor or a lavish church, having a cross

Cato objected to repealing the oppian law because he thought that if women started to become equals with men, they would start to become their superiors. Cato referred to their ancestors and how they “permitted no woman to conduct even personal business without a guardian to intervene in her behalf,” meaning a woman can’t make her own decisions and how a man decides her fate basically. Cato believes that women are getting more rights and therefore will try to overpower men. As he asks in the article, “if [woman] win in this, what will they not attempt?” If woman start to get more rights, that will just be the beginning

Women have played important roles throughout history. They have been responsible for the rise and fall of nations, sustaining families, and have been the focal point of worship in ancient religions. Moving forward in history, women's roles have continually changed. Their status as matriarchs changed as the more advanced ancient civilizations rose. The patriarchal societies of ancient Greece and Rome viewed women differently from some societies of past eras. The study of the economic and political status of women, their rights, and their contributions to both these ancient societies reveals how views change throughout history.

This investigation strives to compare and contrast of the role of women during the Roman Empire and the Middle Ages. The inquiry is significant because in order to understand the culture and ethics of the Roman Empire and the Middle Ages it is crucial to understand the importance of women. The issues that will be addressed include: the role of women in the Roman Empire, the role of women in the Middle Ages, and the similarities as well as the differences of the two major time periods. This investigation will focus on the time period of 27 BC to 1485 BC and the places investigated will include Europe, more specifically Rome. This will be accomplished through a detailed examination of the role of women in the

Women in classical Athens could not have had an extremely enjoyable experience, if we rely on literary sources concerning the roles of women within the Greek polis. The so-called Athenian democracy only benefited a fraction of the entire population. At least half of this population was female, yet women seem to have had very little influence and few official civic rights. `The position of women...is a subject which has provoked much controversy.'

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 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 the play “Julius Caesar” by William Shakespeare, women play an important role. The women are important factors in foreshadowing and in the development of many of the characters. To look at the role of women in the play we must look deeper in to the roles of the only two women in the play; Calpurnia, wife of Caesar, and Portia, wife of Brutus. Both of these women are key in foreshadowing the murder of Caesar. After Caesar’s murder we do not hear much of either of them.

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

The experiences of enslaved women differed from the experience of enslaved men in ancient Rome; slavery within ancient Rome can be traced back to the first century BCE and was based primarily on the chattel slave system. Slavery within the ancient roman society was highly normalised as it was considered a part of roman culture. Slavery within ancient Rome was so heavily normalised that it is considered to be described as a “slave society” Joshel (2010, p. 6) states that “For slaves living in the Roman world, there was no outside – no place without slavery and no movement that declared slavery wrong. Slavery was a normal part of life, and this was true not only for the Romans but for every neighbouring ancient culture”. Not only was

Throughout the ancient world women possessed few rights and privileges. A woman’s freedom varied depending on where she was born, in this case Athens and Sparta. But it can be said that most women were second-class citizens during this time period. Most women had limited social roles, little education, and no involvement in politics. Power and freedom was something that only existed in a man’s world, while women were expected to be submissive, docile, bear children, and take care of the household. Surviving records from ancient Greece show that women’s roles did not differ much from city-state to city-state but there were exceptions that include noble women and most notably, Spartan women. Some civilizations treated women with respect