Women and Society in the Roman World
A Sourcebook of Inscriptions from the Roman West

Uses inscriptions to provide fresh insights into the lives of women in the cities of the Roman West.

Emily A. Hemelrijk (Author)

9781107142459, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 19 November 2020

368 pages, 72 b/w illus. 3 maps
25.7 x 17.6 x 2.1 cm, 0.85 kg

'There is a great deal of pleasure and a wealth of information to be derived from Women and Society in the Roman World … Hemelrijk's carefully curated and annotated collection of inscriptions fill a longstanding lacuna. Her sourcebook places front and centre the integral role of epigraphy as a rich reservoir of socio-historical and cultural detail about women extending beyond the strictly delimited stratum of elite and imperial households into all sectors of the ancient – and, in this case, Roman – world.' Peter Keegan, Bryn Mawr Classical Review

By their social and material context as markers of graves, dedications and public signs of honour, inscriptions offer a distinct perspective on the social lives, occupations, family belonging, mobility, ethnicity, religious affiliations, public honour and legal status of Roman women ranging from slaves and freedwomen to women of the elite and the imperial family, both in Rome and in Italian and provincial towns. They thus shed light on women who are largely overlooked by the literary sources. The wide range of inscriptions and graffiti included in this book show women participating not only in their families and households but also in the social and professional life of their cities. Moreover, they offer us a glimpse of women's own voices. Marital ideals and problems, love and hate, friendship, birth and bereavement, joy and hardship all figure in inscriptions, revealing some of the richness and variety of life in the ancient world.

Introduction
1. Family Life
2. Legal Status, Citizenship and Ethnicity
3. Occupations
4. Social Relations, Travel and Migration
5. Religion
6. Public Life
7. Imperial Women

Subject Areas: Gender studies, gender groups [JFSJ], Feminism & feminist theory [JFFK], Society & culture: general [JF], Social & cultural history [HBTB], Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA]