The Influence and Power of the Women of Rome
Exploring the Lives and Contributions of Women in Ancient Roman History
In October 2022, the Italian people sworn into office Giorgia Meloni. Since Italian Unification in 1861, this was the first time a woman had held the position and was able to secure the vote with success. Notwithstanding her political beliefs, she was able to take office in a country that often saw much bloodshed in its history for seeing powerful women be knocked down by a patriarchal system. Italy, with its deep-seated love for the past, has historically been dominated by male leadership. In ancient times, a woman would not have had a remote chance of making it to the top position of power. Meloni’s achievement is a significant milestone in Italy’s political landscape, highlighting the progress made toward gender equality. But if women had no chance of making it to positions of power the way she did, what did women do to influence that?
The Ancient Roman Senate was a game of power brokers, shaping the world far beyond its fall. Women played a significant, though often underappreciated, role in this arena, influencing the political, social, and cultural landscape of the Roman Empire. Despite being subjected to the authority of the head of their household, many Roman women exerted tremendous influence and wielded power in…
