The Relative Freedom of Roman Women

Karen Gibbins

In general, Roman women had more freedom than Athenian women. Although caging gender roles were still present, the boundaries of acceptable femininity were expanded. Some of the differences between a Greek and a Roman wife can be discerned using the five criteria for a good oikonomikos presented in Ms. Olson’s paper: being young, uneducated, submissive, isolated, and fertile.

Youth is the first criterion for a good wife. Youth was desired both to keep women naïve and to keep them chaste. The younger the wife, the less likely it is that they would have had previous relations with another man. In Roman society, men would marry women as young as twelve to ensure this. Although, in Terence’s The Mother-In-Law, Philumena’s premarital encounter with another man was because of sexual assault and not her fault, she and her mother try desperately to hide it from Pamphilus, Philumena’s husband (Terence, 308). It seems that Philumena would be worth less as a wife since she was not a virgin. Of course, it is normal for a man to have had sexual partners other than his wife by a double standard similar to that found in Athenian culture. When Philumena’s parents are discussing Pamphilus’s mistress, the father says of this sexual promiscuity, "I never considered it a vice in a young man: it’s only natural (Terence, 315)." This inequality in sexual expectations shows that women are still restricted sexually in Roman society.

Being uneducated and being submissive do not seem quite as important in Roman culture. When Octavius arranges marriage between Octavia and Antony in Plutarch’s Life of Marc Antony , the people deem her a worthy wife "who in addition to her beauty possessed great dignity of character and good sense (Plutarch, 298)." She is a valuable woman because she is already educated and has her own opinions. Thus, it seems that, at least in this case, women in Roman marriages are seen as more whole creatures, not so easily swayed by anyone’s influence.

This trust of women’s characters may be why, contrary to Athenian wives, Roman women are permitted outside of the house for more than religious ceremonies. Another criterion for the Greek oikonomikos is for her to remain inside at all possible times. This stipulation is to protect women from seduction and corruption. Having an accurate bloodline was very important to both the Athenians and the Romans due to their emphasis on family name reputation and bequeathal of property. Since Roman women were thought to have mental power, they were trusted to take care of themselves in the outer world and not produce quite so many undesirable, illegitimate children.

Women in Athenian society were also expected to be quite fertile. Citizen men desired many citizen sons (of their own bloodline). This carries over to Roman society. When Pamphilus believes that Philumena has produced an illegitimate son, he cannot bring himself to take her back, no matter how much he loves her (Terence, 308-9). Only after he discovers that the son is actually his own can they be reunited.

Wives in Roman society had more freedom than those in Athenian society. They were permitted to leave the house and were not expected to be naïve empty vessels when they married. However, they were still expected to be chaste and were taken to their bridal beds at a young age to ensure that chastity. Also, their main purpose in society was to manage the household and raise children, particularly sons. Thus, women in Roman society remained restricted, but not to the full extent of women in Athenian society.