Women in Ancient Rome free essay sample

â€Å"Our ancestors, in their wisdom, considered that all women, because of their innate weakness, should be under the control of guardians,† said Cicero (â€Å"Roman Empire†). Women in ancient Rome were oppressed by their society. The men in their lives felt that they needed to be under constant control. They believed that they were physically and mentally weaker than men, and for that, they were inferior. There is an example of this oppression in Sarah B. Pomeroy’s novel, The Murder of Regilla. This novel is about a girl growing up in the Roman society and her switch to the Greek society. While women in ancient Rome did not have much to any control over their own lives, they were gaining liberation compared to the Greeks. In the times of ancient Rome, many aspects of life were extremely different than they are today. The drastic gender division of this society is shocking to people studying this topic today. Boys were allowed to go to school, while women were educated at home by their brothers or husbands. They were not allowed to pursue studies because they were needed to help take care of the house (â€Å"Life of a Women in Ancient Greece and Rome†). Women were forced to marry. The parents of the bride and groom arranged the marriages (â€Å"Life of a Woman in Ancient Greece and Rome†). Men were not forced to marry. They’re permitted to remain single throughout their lives. There was also a double standard on adultery though. Adultery was only when a married women had sexual relations with a man other than her husband, not if a husband cheated on his wife. It was also acceptable for a lower class woman to cheat, but it was considered a serious crime for a high class women. If a high class woman is caught with another man, her husband is required to divorce her and in some cases she may be killed (â€Å"Women in the Ancient World†). Women were to be married between the ages of 14 and 18. Girls were taught to obey their husbands, who were typically much older. The husband’s family would not accept the new wife until a baby was born. However, this was better because if a women was not married, they were most likely a prosititute or entertainer (â€Å"Life of a Woman in Ancient Greece and Rome†). The actual job of a woman was to raise the children, tend to the house and the needs of her husband, and ensure that the slaves were doing their jobs. A woman is not permitted to participate in politics or own property. A wife rarely left her home. When she did, she was only allowed to converse with other women. Speaking to other men was strictly forbidden (â€Å"Life of a Woman in Ancient Greece and Rome†). Women in Rome and Greece had little to no legal status. Males own them from birth to death (â€Å"Life of a Woman in Ancient Greece and Rome†). First, their father owns them. After that, their husband owns them. This man is known as the pater familias. A pater familias has complete control and authority over the entire household. He can be any man, marital status doesn’t matter and neither to presence or absence of children, as long as he is not still under the control of another pater familias (â€Å"Women in the Ancient World†). Men believed that women should be seen, not heard and they were often treated the same as any ordinary household slave (â€Å"Life of a Woman in Ancient Greece and Rome†). These practices were also customary in Greece. However, during the invasion of the Carthaginians, attitudes towards women in Rome began to shift. While husband were off at war, women became responsible for managing the family estate and this new power gave them greater legal standing. While many were opposed to this, there was not anything they could do to stop the change (â€Å"Women in the Ancient World†). Beyond that, after the rule of Augustus ended many of these practices no longer applied to women in Rome. Girls could now receive the same education as boys in early childhood. Anything further than that, only daughters of aristocrats could participate in and they mainly learned about Greek and Latin literature. A Roman wife was now considered her husband’s companion and accompanied him often. These practices were unacceptable to the Greeks still. Greek wives were remained socially isolated (â€Å"Roman Empire†). These social diversities caused many problems for Regilla. Regilla was born sometime near 125 A. D. with the name of Appia Annia Regilla Atilia Caucidia Tertulla. The name illustrates her aristocratic background. She was born into a high class Roman family that was close with the Imperial family. They supposedly have the â€Å"high social connections† (Pomeroy 13). She was taken care of mostly by nurses, as Roman women were much too busy to take care of an infant. She most likely had multiple wet nurses. In the Roman Society though, it was believed that a â€Å"nursing infant would imbibe personal characteristics of the nurse along with her milk,† (Pomeroy 16). For this reason, they made sure to pick wet nurses with the highest quality character traits, so their child would develop only the best. She received some education, but much less than that of her brothers. Most of her educated was learning how to be a good wife and bear children. However, not much else is known about Regilla’s childhood. Regilla is eventually married off to Herodes Atticus, a Greek. He was one of the richest private owners in the Empire, a tutor to the Imperial heirs, a Senator, and a magistrate. His wealth was thought to come from unorthodox methods though (Pomeroy). While it was unusual for a Roman to marry a Greek, Herodes was much better off economically than any man in Rome. Her marriage to Herodes was like a sacrifice made by her father to help his political game. Pomeroy states â€Å"For the elite, the chief reward for raising a daughter came at the time of her marriage, when her father used her as a pawn in his political games,† (Pomeroy 23). Herodes was at least twice her age, much more experienced in Greek, and was known to be a violent man. After their marriage, Herodes did something unusual; he moved them back to Athens in Greece, so she was distanced from her family. Herodes kept her socially isolated and kept her in the house, unless he needed her as a political or religious pawn. It was clear that he did not care for her, but he would give her lavish gifts to appease her. Any and all gifts still kept her pent up; all of these gifts had his stamp on them, including the land he gave her, which was in the middle of all of the land he owned. Later on, while Regilla was eight months into her fourth pregnancy, she was tragically murdered. Her death was due to an apparent blow to the abdomen during premature childbirth. Regilla’s family immediately accuses Herodes, knowing his violent demeanor. Her brother, Bradua, brought Herodes to court, but he was cleared with the help of a friend, Marcus Aurelius. After her death, he constructed monuments in her name, which could be taken as mourning or guilt. What actually happened to Regilla still remains unknown (Pomeroy). More than just give a depiction of Regilla’s life, Pomeroy provides insight on what the life of an aristocratic Roman woman would be like, a topic that has been relatively a mystery. She shows us that the Greek ways must have been an extreme culture shock for Regilla, as it would have been for any Roman woman. As a child, she probably expected to marry a Roman man and continue with the practices that she was accustomed to. Regilla’s resistance o Greek culture probably caused much tension between herself and Herodes and this could be the reason for her murder. This had to have been difficult for Regilla’s family, as abuse on an high class woman was not common. Pomeroy states that, â€Å"If Regilla had married a Roman, or at least if she had remained in Rome, her brother and other kinsman and friends†¦would have monitored her relationship with Herodes,† (Pomeroy 121). She lived an uncommon life for a Roman woman, but Pomeroy’s recount of her story shows a Roman woman’s life compared to a Greek woman’s life and how different they’d become in a short time. Women in ancient Rome were never completely subordinate to the men in their society like Greek women were, but they were oppressed. We see the differences in Pomeroy’s The Murder of Regilla. Roman women had a considerable amount of rights and liberties given to them. It’s hard for people now to see how any of those practices could be considered rights, so it helps to see the contrast of the Greek society. While there was never much research done on the life of Roman women, Pomeroy’s novel allows people to see into that time period. It provides deep insight on what the actual life of a Roman woman would be like and it shows that they were not completely subordinate to the men in their lives and were subtly gaining strength and power.