Blackwell Reference Online

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In 1965 Moses Finley published an article, “The silent women of ancient Rome” (unchanged in 1968 and 1977 reprints), arguing that the sources for Roman women were few, “at cross-purposes” with one another, and included no woman's voice; hence we could form no reliable picture of women in that society. Since then, there has been a flood of books and articles on women of Rome and of many other parts of the ancient world. None of them has been able to find the direct voice of such women, with a few exceptions (the poets Sappho and Sulpicia, a few epitaphs and monuments), but we have become more expert in how to read a wide range of sources to help us see women in the contexts in which they operated. Study of “the Roman family” has developed in many directions since the initial modern studies in the field, helping us better understand women's roles and relationships with husbands, children, the household, and the interface of these with public life. Studies of benefactions (“euergetism”) and patronage have revealed more of women's economic and social activities, as have the studies of professions and jobs. Since Crook's 1967 work, studies of the voluminous Roman legal texts have been more interested in societal implications than fine jurisprudential points, and women of various status groups are found to be frequent figures in the case studies examined.New methodology has led to more ... log in or subscribe to read full text