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Roman Women
In this highly acclaimed work, historian J.P.V.D. Balsdon combines an in-depth study of the important women in ancient Rome with a detailed examination of Roman women's daily life. Covering a period of more than one thousand years, Roman Women traces the history and habits of Roman women from, the founding of Rome 753 B.C. to the death of Constantine in A.D. 337.
Part One treats of Roman women of myth and legend. Part Two is an intriguing review of the habits of Roman women from all walks of life. In lively and informative text, Balsdon discusses the societal norms concerning such issues as marriage, child-rearing, adultery, divorce, and alcohol consumption, and describes the arduous beauty regimen undertaken by Roman women.
- GenresHistoryNonfictionAncient
351 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1998
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About the author
J.P.V.D. Balsdon
16 books2 followersJohn Percy Vyvian Dacre Balsdon (per Library of Congress)
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 25, 2019
Roman women and women of today have much in common, and I just don't mean they still make babies. Sure, hair and clothing styles have changed, and that might take some getting use to if they could magically trade places, but when they look at how society treated them, they might say not much as changed.
It wasn't that long ago that a woman had few rights. Like in ancient Rome, she could not vote, or be involved in politics, unless she was the real power behind the throne. Most women could not own property, and if they were divorced from their husband, he automatically got the kids. Women caught in adultery were treated worst than the men. Women were not in the military, and if one of rank did march her husband's troops about, it was considered a joke that they had to tolerate. A woman's place was in the home, raising the kids and running the household.
Women loved to shop. It was they who picked out furniture, bought perfumes, couldn't get enough jewelry, and spent small fortunes on clothes, makeup and hair styles. I forgot, was I talking about Roman women or those of today? Kidding aside, not much has changed over the centuries.
Arranged marriages between the rich or those with political aspirations were the norm, just like in Washington. Famous people and those with power or money were quick to divorce and remarry, just like in Hollywood. Mistresses and concubines were more common than official marriages for legal or financial reasons, just like in my neck of the woods.
Roman laws were harsh. The more children you had, the bigger tax brakes you got, but not so you could save money for college. Rome needed soldiers. If a couple did not have kids then those could be grounds for divorce, as was a wife who liked to drink. Although a man could have a mistress or concubine, a husband finding an adulterer in his bed could kill him. He could then divorce his wife and the courts would sentence her to death. Punishment for white slavery (meaning Roman women) were brutal, but foreign women slaves were allowed. There was a point where married Roman women could have affairs if they registered as prostitutes. Talk about a loop hole in the law!
This book made for fascinating reading. The author repeated some things but it was all cross-referenced. The main reason I am not giving this a five star rating is that I grew tired of looking up words in the dictionary.
It wasn't that long ago that a woman had few rights. Like in ancient Rome, she could not vote, or be involved in politics, unless she was the real power behind the throne. Most women could not own property, and if they were divorced from their husband, he automatically got the kids. Women caught in adultery were treated worst than the men. Women were not in the military, and if one of rank did march her husband's troops about, it was considered a joke that they had to tolerate. A woman's place was in the home, raising the kids and running the household.
Women loved to shop. It was they who picked out furniture, bought perfumes, couldn't get enough jewelry, and spent small fortunes on clothes, makeup and hair styles. I forgot, was I talking about Roman women or those of today? Kidding aside, not much has changed over the centuries.
Arranged marriages between the rich or those with political aspirations were the norm, just like in Washington. Famous people and those with power or money were quick to divorce and remarry, just like in Hollywood. Mistresses and concubines were more common than official marriages for legal or financial reasons, just like in my neck of the woods.
Roman laws were harsh. The more children you had, the bigger tax brakes you got, but not so you could save money for college. Rome needed soldiers. If a couple did not have kids then those could be grounds for divorce, as was a wife who liked to drink. Although a man could have a mistress or concubine, a husband finding an adulterer in his bed could kill him. He could then divorce his wife and the courts would sentence her to death. Punishment for white slavery (meaning Roman women) were brutal, but foreign women slaves were allowed. There was a point where married Roman women could have affairs if they registered as prostitutes. Talk about a loop hole in the law!
This book made for fascinating reading. The author repeated some things but it was all cross-referenced. The main reason I am not giving this a five star rating is that I grew tired of looking up words in the dictionary.
April 5, 2019
very interesting and detailed book which covers the history of Rome from its mythological beginnings until the late empire. The first part of the book deals mainly with historical,characters, mainly empresses and noble women. The second part of the book deals with daily life, describing marriage customs, domestic life, children, religious life, divorce etc. Originally published in 1962, when there weren't very many books exclusively devoted to women's history, there's a lot of useful information here.
February 17, 2018
Today, a book like that would have been written differently (and probably by a woman — which is, I must say, a very sexist idea). Balsdon is, as usual, brilliant, inventive and academic while being absolutely accessible. A very good account of the state of things.
May 18, 2016
This book was not what I expected it to be. I thought it was going to be showing us Roman Women's daily life etc. The end portion of book did a little bit but not as much as I would have liked.
This book was bland and had a lot of information coming at you. I did enjoy learning more but there was SO many facts and a lot of the people had the same/similar names, it was tough.
It's disappointing that historically no Roman Women written works survived.
This book was bland and had a lot of information coming at you. I did enjoy learning more but there was SO many facts and a lot of the people had the same/similar names, it was tough.
It's disappointing that historically no Roman Women written works survived.
February 12, 2020
Terrible.
May 22, 2021
Enlightening, though I wish it had been written by a woman and not a man writing in the 1960s. A lot of the commentary on women's daily lives in the Reputblic and in the Empire were riven with sexist comments that I didn't appreciate, but I suppose were normal for the time period.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews