Imperial Women Of Rome

Using all available sources, Boatwright explores the constraints and activities of the women of Rome's imperial families from 35 BCE to 235 CE. Livia, Agrippina the Younger, Julia Domna, and others feature in this richly illustrated investigation of change, continuity, historical contingency, and personal agency in imperial women's pursuits and representations.

A captivating popular history that shines a light on the notorious Julio-Claudian women who forged an empire​ Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero--these are the names history associates with the early Roman Empire. Yet, not a single one of these emperors was the blood son of his predecessor. In this captivating history, a prominent scholar of the era documents the Julio-Claudian women whose bloodline, ambition, and ruthlessness made it possible for the emperors' line to continue. Eminent scholar Guy de la Bédoyère, author of Praetorian, asserts that the women behind the scenes--including Livia, Octavia, and the elder and younger Agrippina--were the true backbone of the dynasty. De la Bédoyère draws on the accounts of ancient Roman historians to revisit a familiar time from a completely fresh vantage point. Anyone who enjoys I, Claudius will be fascinated by this study of dynastic power and gender interplay in ancient Rome.

A lively and engaging account of the leading ladies of imperial Rome from the foundation of the Empire to the third century AD (and a postscript on the fourth century). It is illustrated by 416 Coin Photographs as well as a dozen striking portraits by the author, and will thus be an indispensable resource for historians, art historians and numismatists in addition to its wider appeal.

This collection of essays represents research currently being undertaken on women's lives and their representations in various ancient societies. It provides a forum for the exchange and development of ideas and methods at a crucial period in the growth of women's studies in the UK.

They said she was a tyrant, a murderer and the most wicked woman in history. She kicked her way into the male spaces of politics and demanded to be recognised as an equal and a leader. For her audacity, she was murdered by her son and reviled by history. She was the sister, niece, wife and mother of emperors. She was an empress in her own right. And she was a nuanced, fearless trailblazer in the Roman world. The story of Agrippina – the first empress of Rome – is the story of an empire at its bloody, extravagant, chaotic, ruthless height.

From the end of the Roman Republic to the death of the last Julio-Claudian emperor, portraits of women - on coins, public monuments, and private luxury objects - became an increasingly familiar sight throughout the empire. These women usually represented the distinguished bloodlines of the head of the state, or his hopes for succession, but in every case, their images were freighted with political significance. These objects also communicated social messages about the appropriate roles, behavior, and self-presentation of women. This volume traces the emergence and development of the public female portrait, from Octavia, the first Roman woman to be represented in propria persona on coinage, to the formidable and ambitious Agrippina the Younger, whose assassination demonstrated to later women the limits of official power they could demand.

Publisher description

This sourcebook includes a rich and accessible selection of Roman original sources in translation ranging from the Regal Period through Republican and Imperial Rome to the late Empire and the coming of Christianity. From Roman goddesses to mortal women, imperial women to slaves and prostitutes, the volume brings new perspectives to the study of Roman women's lives. Literary sources comprise works by Livy, Catullus, Ovid, Juvenal and many others. Suggestions for further reading, a general bibliography, and an index of ancient authors and works are also included.

This book explains why Roman portrait statues, famed for their individuality, repeatedly employed the same body forms.