Women In The Roman Empire

Roman ideas about woman within the family were on the verge of changing, yet not completely equal to men, in the third century with the religion of Christianity coming into affect and changing the cultural and social ideas within the Roman Empire. Christianity started as a small group which eventually led to the official religion of the Roman Empire. Christianity had some radical ideas that changed the dynamic of a woman within the home, but yet it still held a hierarchical system of beliefs about woman not being above men in church and political position that was based off Jewish and Classical Mediterranean beliefs. Woman at this time were meant to still serve as a subordinate of the house, work alongside her servants to care for the home …show more content…
There were two tribunes of the plebs, M. Fundanius and L. Valerius who wanted to repeal the Oppian Law. This law was set up during the after effects of the 2nd Punic War where they hardships were felt after the defeat of Carthage. The consulship of Q. Fabius and Tiberius Sempronius were apart of this law and it wouldn’t allow any woman to carry more than a half ounce of gold, ride any two-horsed carriage in any Roman town unless it was for a religious practice and not to were a multi-colored dress. These laws were to protect the authority of a man in a home and that the woman and it would protect a woman’s honor in the home. It was more made out of fear of a woman trying to become equal with a man. This law was challenged by Fundanius and Valerius, alongside many nobles and woman in the city who covered the streets and approached men who were not their husbands pleading to bring down this law. They used force by not moving until the tribunes, who were against their proposal would give in and veto the Oppian Law. They won their proposal and it was brought …show more content…
She was a martyr and a writer of Christian text who was believed to die in year 203. There are many debates over her writing and if they were actually written by her or a man editor, but one thing that is not debated is that she is one of the first female Christian writers before the 4th century. Her works were that of: The Passion of St. Perpetua, St. Felicitas and their Companions. She left her husband and home to be a devout Christian and missionary. Her father was very close to her and he continually tried getting her to abandon her faith but she refused and was killed in the