Any historical investigation into the lives of ancient women involves individual

interpretation and much speculation. One can read the ancient sources concerned
with women and their place in society, but to a large degree, they are all seco
ndary sources that were written by men about women. No ancient journals or perso
nal diaries written by Roman women were uncovered, so it is not known what their
hopes and dreams were, or if they had any. What Roman women felt about most pol
itical issues and the numerous wars and upheavals is also a mystery. Nor can we
read about what women thought of slavery, marriage, or the fact they had no lega
l rights over their children or even themselves. The scope is truly limited, but
many questions may still be asked and considered, such as: what was the role of
Roman women in their society? Were they considered citizens who had personal fr
eedom, or were they sequestered away and given little or no education? Was indiv
iduality and personal choice a part of women's lives, or were they overshadowed
by the patriarchal society of which they were a part? The answers may be difficu
lt to uncover, but they are important questions when one realizes that so much o
f Roman civilization went on to lay the foundation of our own modern society. Un
derstanding the past makes the present that much clearer and hopefully provides
insight into the future, thereby helping society not to make the same mistakes a
gain.
When looking at the sources for ancient Roman women, it is quickly evident that
most of them deal with the aristocracy. It was men from the upper classes who re
ceived the best education and the best positions in society, and this enabled th
em leisure time to reflect on their world and to write about it. As is the case
with most people, they wrote about their own experiences and when it came to wom
en, it was their own relatives and wives whom they depicted on paper. Certainly,
aristocratic women and those from the other upper levels of Roman Society did n
ot make up the majority of the female population, but it is pieces of their live
s that we have to look at. Evidence for what the poorer women suffered during th
e Roman Republic and the Empire is very fragmentary, however, women of all econo
mic levels shared one overwhelming and pervasive role and responsibility, no mat
ter the social position they possessed: that of child bearer. Greek and Roman wo
men were regarded with contempt, secluded, uneducated and unfree and unequal. Th
ey were regarded as lower order of beings, neglected by nature in comparison wit
h man, both in point of intellect and heart; incapable of taking part in public
life, naturally prone to evil and fitted only for propagating the species and gr
atifying the sensual appetites of the men. The most important role a woman would
play in Ancient Rome was that of wife and mother. Once married, a woman was ori
ginally said to pass under manus and relinquish her role as a daughter and be un
der direct control of her husband. Under manus, women were expected to obey thei
r husbands in almost all aspects of their lives, though the custom of manus fell
out of favor by the first century BC.[29] It also became common practice for Ro
man women to be able to own their own land, write their own wills by the fifth c
entury BC, and appear in court as their own advocates.[29] Roman wives were expe
cted to bear children. , and Upper-class women showed a growing disinclination t
o devote themselves to traditional motherhood; by the 1st century AD, most avoid
ed breast-feeding their infants themselves, and hired wet-nurses instead.[30] La
rge families were not the norm among the elite even by the Late Republic; the fa
mily of Clodius Pulcher, who had at least three sisters and two brothers, was co
nsidered unusual.[31] The birth rate among the aristocracy declined to such an e
xtent that Augustus passed a series of laws intended to increase it, including s
pecial honors for women who bore at least three children,[32] and prohibiting th
ose who were unmarried, divorced, widowed, or barren from inheriting property un
less named in a will.[33]
Free-born women in ancient Rome were citizens (cives),[2] but could not vote or
hold political office.[3] Because of their limited public role, women are named
less frequently than men by Roman historians. But while Roman women held no dire
ct political power, those from wealthy or powerful families could and did exert
influence through private negotiations. Exceptional women who left an undeniable
 mark on history range from the semi-legendary Lucretia and Claudia Quinta, whos
e stories took on mythic significance; fierce Republican-era women such as Corne
lia, mother of the Gracchi, and Fulvia, who commanded an army and issued coins b
earing her image; women of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, most prominently Livia, w
ho contributed to the formation of Imperial mores; and the empress Helena, a dri
ving force in establishing Christianity as the official religion of Rome.

Roman women were not only valued for the number of children that they produced,
but also for their part in raising children to become valuable Roman citizens. W
omen were expected to bestow the values and education upon their sons to turn th
em into citizens that would run Rome with integrity. Thus, to be able to rear he
r children to succeed in life, an exemplary Roman mother should be well educated
herself. The wealthier Roman children were taught to read Greek as well as Lati
n from an early age.[34] Not only were Roman wives expected to raise their child
ren to high moral standards, they were also expected to run the household for th
eir husbands. The typical wealthy Roman matron would have slaves to manage as we
ll as normal household duties. A virtuous wifeâ s life revolved around frugality, par
simony, and austerity[35] though in time these values declined into decadence an
d luxury. One of the most important tasks for a woman to fulfill in the househol
d was the spinning of wool to make clothes. This tradition was so important to A
ncient Romans that wool was often used as a symbol of wifely duties and spinning
wheels would adorn funerary epitaphs of honorable dead wives.[36]