Women And Power Flashcards
1
Q
What was democracy?
A
- civil duty of all male citizens to be involved in politics
- equal vote
2
Q
How often did the assembly meet?
A
Every 9 days
3
Q
How did the assembly work?
A
- a herald introduced topics selected by the Boule (council of 500 citizens)
- all members of the assembly had equal rights to speak
- the wealthy were able to use polished speaking skills to sway the crowd
4
Q
What made a person eligible for the assembly
A
- male
- over 18
- Athenian citizen
- served in military at least 2 years
- not be (never been) a slave
- paid all taxes
5
Q
What is Assemblywomen?
A
- comedic play
- by Aristophanes
6
Q
In Aristophanes Assemblywomen what impression do you get of Praxagora?
A
- she is a confident, persuasive speaker - ‘firstly they are mothers, so will be eager to protect our soldiers’
- bossy - takes charge, tells the other women what to do
- educated in politics, as she speaks with awareness and is knowledgeable on what to do - ‘I am distressed and depressed at the business of the city, for I see that it is always making criminals it’s leaders’
7
Q
In Aristophanes Assmeblywomen how did the women act differently to Greek expectations?
A
- erratically - shown by praxagora’s energetic and crazy behaviour - ‘you wretch’
- mischievous - sneaking out at night unaccompanied
- disguising as men to speak their thoughts in the assembly
- involvement in politics
8
Q
What is the plot of the Assemblywomen?
A
- the play centres around a kyria named praxagora and a group of women she has recruited + praxagora has devised a scheme to take power from the men and give it to women
- play begins at night before the dawn meeting of the assembly - the women have snook out and are planning to disguise themselves as men to get into the assembly + force a vote on whether political power in Athens should be given to women
- they will need convince the men in the assembly to vote with the, - requiring skill of public speaking
- the other women are more concerned with gossip and their disguises + are difficult to control
- the source ends with praxagora giving a passionate practise speech, which the others failed to do
9
Q
what was praxagora’s argument in her speech?
A
- praxagora giving a passionate practise speech - proposing the power should be given to the women because they are experienced in managing the housheold and they also do it the traditional way leading to a prosperous household, where as men always look for something new just for the sake of change
10
Q
who was Agnodice?
A
- first recorded Athenian doctor for women
- it was against the law for a women to train as a doctor in Athens, so Agnodice trained as a physician in Egypt because she wanted to help women through the dangers of pregnancy and childbirth
- when she returned to Athens, she cut her hair short and disguised herself as a man
11
Q
what was the trial of Agnodice?
A
- women of Athens preferred Agnodice (once they knew her true identity) because they trusted her more than male doctors
- over time, male doctors became jealous + suspicious
- eventually a group of jealous husbands brought a case against Agnodice - claiming ‘he’ was suggesting their wives and having affairs
- during the trial, Agnodice revealed her identity to prove her innocence, but then they just accused her of deceit and illegally practising medicine - the punishment would have been death
- the leading women came to court, disapproving of this + claiming they are condemning their safety
- the men of Athens bowed down to the pressures of their wives - shows Athenian women could make their voice heard through the influence they had on male relatives, despite the limitations placed on them by Athenian law
12
Q
What was Rome’s central governing body?
A
the Senate
13
Q
What was the quaestor?
A
- 20 per year
- managed Romes finances
14
Q
What was the aedile?
A
- 4 per year
- oversaw public services
15
Q
What was the praetor?
A
- 8 per year
- ran law courts
16
Q
What was the consul?
A
- 2 per year
- co-heads of state in charge of the military, and political relations with other states; passed laws (after consultation with senate)
- highest position
- having two was a safeguard against one man having too much power, as had been seen when Rome was a monarchy
17
Q
What was the cursus honorum?
A
the ladies of political offices in Rome
18
Q
Could women be in the senate?
A
- women were no eligible to stand for public office and could therefore not be a member of the senate
- women could also not vote in elections, so could not choose representatives
- the only political influence a women could hold would be through men close to her
19
Q
Who was praecia?
A
- lover of Cethegus, who was at his fame and in control of the city
- she gained political power as Cethegus didn’t do anything without Praecia’s approval
20
Q
Who was Fabia?
A
- she was able to indirectly change to the law to let plebeian men apply to be a consul
- Fabia married a wealthy man who was plebeian, and was jealous of her sister whose patrician husband was a consul
- she influenced her father to put forward an amendment to the law, which was eventually passed
21
Q
what was the Oppian law?
A
- 215 BC, Rome was in a long + costly war against Carthage - causing a financial crisis
- it had suffered a defeat at the battle of Cannae and was short on resources to rebuild an army
- the consuls passed a law that forced men to contribute some of their wives gold and silver jewellery to the city’s treasury
- the law also banned women from making public shows of wealth
22
Q
What was the repeal of the Oppian law?
A
- 20 years later, the financial crisis had passed but the law was still in place
- a crowd of matronae blocked the streets around the forum, ordering the men to repeal the law and the protest happened over a few days
- following the women’s protest another debate was held in the senate
- those against repealing the law accused the husband’s of protesting women of failing to have control over their wives + women should accept the law —> those in favour for repealing reminded the senate that the women gladly gave their jewellery to Rome when in need + since they contributed to the war they should be able to enjoy the wealth that came from it
- eventually the Oppian law was repealed
23
Q
Who was Catelline?
A
- a man from a wealthy family who had run for consul several times and failed
- this has been expensive + became bankrupt
- with support from some fellow noblemen and some military, catelline devised a plot to overthrow the Republic and take power for himself
- many supporters were facing financial problems like catiline + he promised to cancel all debt after his revolution
24
Q
Who was Sempronia?
A
- sallust mentions Sempronia in the Conspiracy of Catiline
- Sempronia was the wife of a prominent senator, Decimus Junius Brutus
- she was from a wealthy and influential family + was highly accomplished - she could sing, play music, dance and knew Roman and Greek literature
- sallust portrays her to have skills of an ideal matrona
25
What was Sempronia’s involvement in the conspiracy?
- sallust never outlines exactly what Sempronia did to help the conspiracy
- he says Catiline recruited women to his cause so they could help him win the support of their slaves and husbands
- it is even implied that women were asked to murder their husbands if they could not be persuaded
- although it is unclear of Sempronia’s involvement, it shows individual Roman women could involved themselves in a male-dominated world of politics
26
Why was Sempronia never prosecuted?
- Roman law did not recognise the possibility that a woman could commit treason
- women were legally excluded from politics, therefore immune from laws that policed politics
