Women And Power Flashcards

1
Q

What was democracy?

A
  • civil duty of all male citizens to be involved in politics
  • equal vote
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2
Q

How often did the assembly meet?

A

Every 9 days

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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
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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
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5
Q

What is Assemblywomen?

A
  • comedic play
  • by Aristophanes
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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’
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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12
Q

What was Rome’s central governing body?

A

the Senate

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13
Q

What was the quaestor?

A
  • 20 per year
  • managed Romes finances
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14
Q

What was the aedile?

A
  • 4 per year
  • oversaw public services
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15
Q

What was the praetor?

A
  • 8 per year
  • ran law courts
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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
Q

What was Sempronia’s involvement in the conspiracy?

A
  • 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
Q

Why was Sempronia never prosecuted?

A
  • 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