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Women in family in ANCIENT ROME - Coggle Diagram
Women in family in ANCIENT ROME
Aristocratic girls married young, sometimes as early as 12; lower-class girls slightly older.
Early marriage aimed to ensure virginity at marriage.
Fathers arranged marriages for political/economic advantage.
Daughters could only reject a match by proving the suitor’s bad character.
Republican Rome: Wives were under the authority of their husbands.
Imperial Rome: Wives retained legal ties to their fathers, gaining some independence.
Husbands had no legal power over wives in the imperial period.
Women were valued for bearing and raising children, especially for the number of children.
Aristocratic women increasingly rejected traditional motherhood roles (e.g. breastfeeding).
Wet nurses were hired instead of breastfeeding.
Large families became rare.
Emperor Augustus passed laws rewarding women who bore at least three children.
One reward: freedom from paternal legal control.
Numerous slaves
Country estates
Urban homes
Like Athenian women, Roman aristocratic women managed large households:
Often ran properties/businesses due to husbands’ long absences (military/government).
A virtuous Roman matron was known for thrift and seriousness.
Expected to clothe family through spinning and weaving, despite slave labour.
Livia (wife of Augustus) famously wove clothes for her husband.