Women in power Flashcards
In the Classical Period Athens was not governed by …
A king
Athenian matters of political importance were…[2]:
- Disscussed and voted on
- By assembly
Assemblywomen [4]:
- Athenian play
- Written by Aristphanes
- Satirical (comedical)
- The play centers around a Kyria named Praxagora and a group of women she has recruited
The Assemblywomen plot [4]:
- Praxagora has devised a scheme to take power from the men in Athens and give it to the women
- They disguise themselves as men and infiltrate the Assembly
- They will force a vote on whether political power in athens should be given to the women
- As the women gather together they talk about their husbands in a comedic manner
In the ‘Assemblywomen’ women are presented as…[4]:
- Unreliable
- Vain
- Obssessed with sex
- Obssessed with alcohol
The trial of Agnodice [5]:
- Agnodice was a female doctor disguised as a man
- She was very popular with her female patients
- The husbands thought their wives were having an affair with Agnodice
- There was a court trial which revealed Agnodice was posing as a man
- The woman pleaded Agnodice’s case so that she would be able to legally carry out her medical practice
Before Agnodice women were not legally allowed to be…
doctors
The structure of the Roman senate [5]:
- The emperor
- The two consuls
- Praetors
- Aedile
- Quaestors
The 2 consuls =
The republic
Roman women were not allowed to…[2]:
- Stand in office
- Vote
The Catilinarian Conspiracy [3]:
- Lead by a Roman Man called Catiline
- It was a plot devised to overthrow the republic
- Ultimately the conspiracy failed
Catiline [3]:
- He was from a wealthy family
- He had some political talent so he run for the consulship and failed several times
- This was very expensive, rendering him almost bankrupt in 63bc
One of Cataline’ smost appealing promises to his follwers was to…
Cancel all debt after his revolution
Many of Cataline’s supporters were in a similar…
financial situation to Cataline
The events of the Castilinarian Conspiracy were recorded by…
The historian and polititian Sallust
Who was Sempronia? [3]:
- She was the wife of a Prominent senator
- She was from a wealthy and influential family
- According to Sallust she was highly accomplished
Who was Sempronia’s husband? [2]:
- Decimus Junius Brutus
- He had been cnsul in 77 BC
What were Sempronia’s talents? [5]:
- She knew Greek and Roman literature
- She could sing
- Play music
- Dancing
- She was Beautiful
Although Sallust never outlines exactly what Sempronia did he says that Cataline recruited women to…[2]:
- Win the support of their slaves and husbands
- He even implies that they would have been asked to murder their husbands if they could not be persuaded
Sempronia was a dark mirror of…
the ideal matrona
Sallust describes Sempronia as…[3]:
- Beautiful and talented
- He also accuses her of breaking oaths
- He accuses her of being privy to murder and adultery
Sempronia was never prosecuted for her role in the conspiracy because….
Roman law did not recognise the posibility that women could commit treason as they were legally excluded from the world of politics
Sempronia quotes [3]:
- “She was more elegant than an honest woman should be”
- “Her lstful nature burned so much that she persued men more often than she was persued”
- “She was well versed in Greek and Latin literature”
Where did the Athenian assembly meet?
The Pryx
How often did the Athenian assembly meet?
Every 9 days
What were the criteria someone had to meet before they were allowed to attend the Athenian assemby? [2]:
- They had to be an Athenian citizen
- They had to serve 2 years in the army
What was the highest elected office in the Roman senate?
The consul
How did the women of Rome bring about the repeal of the Oppian law?
They banned together and protested to raise the issue to the men
What was the Oppian Law?
The Oppian Law was passed, limiting the amount of gold that each woman could possess to half an ounce.
What does the protest approach suggest about Women’s influenc in Roman poltics?
They had some power but only by relying on or convincing the men in their lives
