Women, Wealth and Power in the Roman Republic

Elite women controlled substantial property in the Roman Republic and were thus empowered to participate in politics and public life.

Showcases current research on the political and economic significance of elite women during the Roman Republic, challenging the current consensus which marginalises them and underplays their significance. Essential reading for students and scholars of Roman history, and anyone interested in the role of women in the ancient world.In the Roman Republic, elite women were legally permitted to control substantial assets-and many demonstrably were in direct control of their wealth. They were also the mothers, wives, and daughters of the politicians who built the Roman empire and, in a time of high mortality, could find themselves running households which did not contain adult men. This volume explores the political and social consequences of elite female wealth. It combines case studies of individual women, such as Licinnia, wife of C. Gracchus, Mucia Tertia and Octavia Minor, with broader surveys of the institutional frameworks and social conventions which constrained and enabled women's wealth and its consequences. The book contributes to the recent upsurge of interest in reevaluating the role of women in Republican Rome and will be invaluable for scholars and students alike.