Under the ancient Roman law, women were regarded as part of the roman’s man's possessions classified similarly as home and field slaves. They were not given the right to vote neither were they emancipated, and they were not given the first Roman names as men. In addition, the women were considered dependent on a man either a father or husband and their traditional position was that of managing house chores, spinning wool and making clothes. However, there is evidence presenting a different outlook of the ancient roman women as, educated, influential and powerful (N/a para 1). For example, some participated actively during campaigns while others owned business enterprises and other educated women wrote poems.
Therefore, ancient roman women as presented as having struggled to exist as they were offered demeaning jobs and others operated as slaves. However, they played a significant role in the society irrespective of how badly and poorly they were treated. In addition, history records have it that although the effluent roman women were educated, they were not allowed to go to school and were often educated at home by their husbands or brothers. This was due to the perception that their role could not allow them to participate in school, and they were expected to stay at home and support their husbands and men in taking care of the home. The education they were offered was to facilitate them educate their children, and not necessarily for their own benefit (Gibbon para 5). This paper seeks to explore the roles played by women and how they were treated in the ancient roman empire.
Women in the ancient roman empire were treated badly as some were referred to as prostitutes, who were offered specialized education. This group of women was referred to as Hetaira and were offered trainings on conversations and entertainment. The training was supposed to enable them to sit around men and have conversations with them during long food festivals. Therefore, such women were allowed for further education, and they were not limited on things they could learn. Such treatment in a society is demeaning and mostly unacceptable in the modern society (Donegan para 6). It indicates that women were treated just like any other property owned to please a man and stay within men’s jurisdiction.
Marriage was not a choice for an ancient woman’s life as a single life was not acceptable. Additionally, marriage was organized and arranged by the parents of the bride and groom, and it was not a choice of the woman to choose the man of their choice. The women were married off at the age between fourteen and eighteen years and were raised and expected to obey their husbands. However, a freshly married woman was not accepted fully in the husband's family until they conceived a child for the man. Their duties were constrained to raising their children, tend the house and private life based on the wishes of their husbands. In addition, based on social status of the husband, women married to wealth husbands were expected to stay at home and supervise the slaves.
Ancient women public life was determined by their role in the society, and they were allowed to associate with other women in the society and not men. The presence of married women was meant to facilitate bearing of legitimate children of the husband. Therefore, the existence of un-married women in the society were perceived importance as they operated, as call girls to entertain men (N/a para 7). For example, the Heteras entertained men and also participated in other social duties. Women had no legal recognition in the ancient roman empire, and they were owned and treated as men’s possession. They were not allowed to take any legal action against people, participate in governance and own property. Men were the only people allowed to take legal actions against people, run the government, own property and other jobs. According to men in the ancient roman empire, women were not to be heard or seen and men kept separate rooms where male visitors could visit. They were not allowed in the rooms and places where children and women resided and in some cases women were treated just as domestic slaves.
The un-married women's occupations revolved around entertainment and conversation with men majority working as prostitutes and slaves. The Hataeras had further social duties such as dancing and entertaining men through conversations. However, other women also had varying occupations such as midwives and poetry based on their education. Women married to respectable wealthy men remained at home to raise children, make clothes and supervise the slaves. They were not allowed to go out unless during religious festivals (Winter 4). However, women married to lower class, free women and slave women moved out more frequently as they had to work.
Roman women were considered under the guardianship and authority of a male in most cases their father or a close male relative, which was transferred to their husband in some cases after marriage. However, they would also be retained by the father, which was referred to as marriage without menus, and when transferred to their husband, it was referred to as marriage with manus. The majority of the women preferred marriage without manus since their husbands were not the main authority and figures in their lives. This was in line with the introduction of a law by emperor Augustus that free women who had three children or a freed woman with four children could be exempted from male guardianship (Gibbon para 6). This was a way of encouraging women to bear more children as he birth rate was too low.
However, it is difficult to justify that women were treated badly in ancient Rome, and it depends on an individual point of view as their counterparts in Athens were far much dissatisfied. As compared to various other societies, in the ancient times, roman women were able to participate more freely in the public as compared to women in Athens and even Asian countries such as China (Bispham, Harrison and Spark 27). The majority of the women were more satisfied with the status quo, as compared to women in various other societies.
In conclusion, the ancient roman woman was treated as man’s possessions. They were not allowed to participate in governance, take legal action, and they had no legal recognition. They were married off at an early age between fourteen and eighteen years and were raised and expected to obey their husbands. The traditional role of the ancient roman woman was house chores raise children and tend to his husband’s needs. However, the women married to lower class, free women and slave women had to engage in some work which was mainly prostitution. However, justification of whether they were treated badly depends on an individual point of view as there were other societies with more restrictions on women as compared to Rome.
Works Cited
Bispham, Edward, Thomas J Harrison and Brian A Spark. The Edinburgh Companion to Ancient Greece and Rome. Liverpool: Edinburgh University Press, 2006.
Donegan, Devillier. "The Roman Empire in the First Century." 2006. 24 September 2013 <http://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/empire/women.html>.
Gibbon, Edward. "ancient roman women." 2011. Rome History. 24 September 2013 <http://www.mariamilani.com/ancient_rome/ancient_roman_women.htm>.
N/a. "The Life of a Woman in Ancient Greece and Rome." 2013. 24 September 2013 <http://www.datehookup.com/content-the-life-of-a-woman-in-ancient-greece-and-rome.htm>.
Winter, Bruce W. Roman Wives, Roman Widows: The Appearance of New Women and the Pauline Communities. Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2003.
