Many accounts, both ancient and modern, have maintained that the Julio-
Claudian women had unprecedented influence in their spheres. This
dissertation attempts to determine the degree of autonomy and influence that
the Julio-Claudian women had and to examine the factors that may have
contributed to their exceptional influence.
In trying to establish the extent and nature of the influence of the Julio-
Claudian women, the ancient sources (literary, documentary and iconographic),
in conjunction with modern scholarly views, were critically examined
throughout. In attempting to determine the factors that influenced such weight
and autonomy as these women had, the dissertation looks at the influences on
women of earlier times, in particular the late Roman Republic, from a legal and
a socio-historical angle. Whether the Julio-Claudian women could be
considered, for example, to have been part of a “super-elite” in comparison
with aristocratic women of earlier, and even later, times, was discussed and
evaluated.
On the surface the Julio-Claudian women did seem to enjoy a wider range
of freedoms, power and influence than their counterparts, or the Roman
women before or after them. Yet it is clear from the sources that these women
also had restrictions laid upon them and that the patriarchal framework still
curtailed their influence. When they over-stepped the accepted bounds, they
were invariably vilified by the ancient historians, and often came to be
negatively portrayed by subsequent generations. Whether these women truly
deserved their vilification, or whether it can simply be ascribed to the bias of
the ancient writers, was also explored throughout. / Classics and World Languages / M.A. (Classical Studies)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/13904 |
| Date | 06 1900 |
| Creators | Zager, Ilona |
| Contributors | De Marre, Martine Elizabeth Agnès |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Format | 1 online resource (129 leaves) |
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