#59

[whencyclopedia]

Female Gladiators In Ancient Rome

Female gladiators in ancient Rome – referred to by modern-day scholars as gladiatrix – may have been uncommon but they did exist. Evidence suggests that a number of women participated in the public games of Rome even though this practice was often criticized by Roman writers and attempts were made to regulate it through legislation.

Female gladiators are often referred to in ancient texts as ludia (female performers in a ludi, a festival or entertainment) or as mulieres (women) but not often as feminae (ladies) suggesting to some scholars that only lower-class women were drawn to the arena. There is a significant amount of evidence, however, that high-born women were as well. The term gladiatrix was never used in ancient times; it is a modern word first applied to female gladiators in the 1800's.

Women who chose a life in the arena – and it does seem this was a choice – may have been motivated by a desire for independence, a chance at fame, and financial rewards including remission of debt. Although it seems a woman gave up any claim to respectability as soon as she entered the arena, there is some evidence to suggest that female gladiators were honored as highly as their male counterparts.

Role of Women in Rome

Women in Rome – whether during time of the Republic or the later Empire – had few freedoms and were defined by their relationship to men. Scholar Brian K. Harvey writes:

Unlike men's virtues, women were praised for their home and married life. Their virtues included sexual fidelity (castitas), a sense of decency (pudicitia), love for her husband (caritas), marital concord (concordia), devotion to family (pietas), fertility (fecunditas), beauty (pulchritude), cheerfulness (hilaritas), and happiness (laetitia)…As exemplified by the power of the paterfamilias , Rome was a patriarchal society. (59)

Whether upper or lower class, women were expected to adhere to traditional expectations of behavior. Women's status is made clear through the many works by male writers which deal with the subject in depth and well as various legislative decrees. It is not known how women felt about their position since almost all the extant literature from Rome is written by men. Harvey notes that “we have almost no literary source that reveals a woman's perspective on her own life or the role of women in general” (59).

The one exception to this is the poetry of Sulpicia (l. 1st century BCE). In her first poem, celebrating falling in love, she says how she does not want to hide her love in “sealed documents” but will express it in verse and writes, “It is nice to go against the grain, as it is tiresome for a woman to constantly force her appearance to fit her reputation” (Harvey, 77). This reputation, of course, was forced upon a woman by males; first her father and then her husband.

Sulpicia was the daughter of Servius Sulpicius Rufus (l. c. 106-43 BCE), an author, orator, and jurist who was famous for his eloquence. As a writer himself, his daughter's literary pursuits were most likely encouraged but this was hardly the case for most women. Even in her case, she was still under the control of her father and her uncle Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus (l. c. 64 BCE-8 CE). In her second poem, Sulpicia complains about Messalla's control over her in making birthday plans, writing that her uncle does “not allow me to live at my own discretion” (Harvey, 77).

Messalla Corvinus, like his brother, was also an author and an important patron of the arts. Sulpicia, then, was most likely brought up in an enlightened home where women could pursue literary endeavors and, based on her other poems, she also seems to have had the freedom to pursue a love affair with a man she calls Cerinthus who did not meet with the approval of her family. Even in this “liberated” environment, however, she still felt constrained and so it may be assumed a woman had far less freedom of choice in other more conservative homes.

Continue reading...

[naser1963]

ونافذة تنقلنا إلى حديث الأصدقاء

أهو عتاب ونقاش عند اللقاء

أم تعاهد على المحبة ودروب الوفاء

أم اتفاق على البعد وكل الجفاء

And a window that takes us to the talk of friends.

Is it a rebuke and a discussion at the meeting.

Or agree on love and the paths of loyalty.

Or agree on the distance and all absence .

[dailytd]

59 king of the junjle

[shakespearian-love]

Safe with you ❦

[kiwi-rebel-57-06]

Kiwi Rebel. '59 Studebaker Napco 4X4 Pickup Truck.

[coachzdaily]

59

[sonichedgeblog]

The unused cover for Archie's 'Sonic The Hedgehog' 59. It was included as a pin-up in the issue. Support us on Patreon

[pamelaandersonsgaurd]

⭑ Happy birthday yummy boyy!! ⭑ 🐍

[onesnoopyaday]

Snoopy #60

30/11/2024

[maybeyoullfindthissomeday]

Do they call it just onion soup in France?

oil and butter simmering in a dutch oven when we add eight vidalia bulbs thickly incised instead of six thiny sliced because we like our soups to be substantial, and with the garlic, our portion's also unbashful. and as chemists, we appreciate the caramelization, the intense heat breaking sugars down into smaller compounds, drastically changing the flavors, the aromas, and the color to a rich, golden brown. we let ourselves take avaricious sips of white wine before we pour it to deglaze, scraping the fond, the salty goodness that we crave. we add the broth, the bay leaves, and then the thyme too, but as we use the last, i cannot help but despairingly think how running out of thyme is an omen, as if we’ll find out how sturdily our camaraderie has been interwoven. still my vagrant head, it digresses as we transfer our amalgamation to ceramic bowls, in which we top with texas toast in lieu of baguettes, because more butter hasn’t hurt us yet. and while we apparently do not give a fuck about presentation when we smother with parmesan and gruyere, my hazy thoughts, they again veer as i ask myself if we can later match the mess we make here. or can we just set ourselves to broil and watch it all burn just like i’d love to do with this poem’s words?

but as you've helped me to think more positively, maybe we can become a tapestry of flavors, every delicious layer something in time we can both heavily savor?

[naser1963]

يارب حسن التدبير وسلامة القلوب

🌿🍀🌿🍀🌿🍀🌿🍀

Oh God, good management and safety of hearts.

[daily-izutsumi]

[jtl-fics]

Beep boop time for more tbd please!?!

(If you ever did an all tbd wipw you would have my forever heart)

10/2/24 WIP Wednesday (Closed) | TBD AU

“You want me to stay here?” he asks wanting to be sure that he understands and that this isn’t the result of some sort of hallucination brought upon by his head injury that everyone seems to be so concerned about.

“You have a head injury. I… don’t want you to be alone.” Neil explains, “We’ll just hang out on the TV. We can watch something mindless.” Neil offers and Andrew does enjoy mindless television.

But this is new.

Neil and Andrew have always had something that they were doing when they were hanging out before. Whether that be throwing axes, eating dinner, or any of the other myriad of activities that the two of them had gotten up to…there was always a purpose to what they were doing.

This, even if Neil was framing it as being worried for Andrew’s health, was just hanging out with one another.

[dailyscug]