religion

Greece

  • Female goddesses were served by female priestesses

  • A woman could become a priestess by: winning lottery, being elected, or inheritance

  • Priestesses not responsible for well-being of congregation

  • Priestesses received salaries & were highly respected

  • The Pythia was most important Greek mantis

    • Pythia served for life

    • Delivered prophecy on 7th day of each month

Greek sacrifice

  1. Prayers to the god

  2. Animal killed at altar by priestess

  3. Female celebrants shout “ololyge” to mark transition from life to death

  4. Animal blood covers altar

  5. Priestess prays

  6. Some meat burned for god, remainder was cooked

  7. Feast - meat was luxury for lots


Mantis = soothsayer that examines entrails of sacrificed animal

  • based on colour, they interpreted if gods accepted sacrifice


Thesmophoria

  • for Demeter

  • Day 1. Temporary shelters set up near Pnyx (women symbolically took over city)

  • Day 2. Worshippers fast for a day & cover selves in ashes to reenact Demeter’s grief at loss of daughter

  • Day 3. Worshippers pray for blessings related to fertility


Worship of Dionysus

  • god of ekstasis

  • Women went to countryside, got high & danced

    • These women were maenads


Bacchae

  • Pentheus wants to stop worship of Dionysus so pretends to be a woman but is mistaken for a lion and killed



Rome

6 Vestal Virgins

  • looked after fire

  • Made blood sacrifices as Bona Dea & Vesta

  • Participated in certain festivals & sacrifices

  • If Vestal Virgins let fire go out, she was beaten by Pontifex maximus

  • If she was unchaste, she was entombed in a cave & left to starve / dehydrate

  • Privileges included being given special seats at festivals & owning property

  • Children’s who were eligible to be vestal virgins: 6-10 years, no physical defects, both parent alive, no family in religious roles


Flamenca dialis

  • wife of Flamen dialis (priest of Jupiter)

  • If flamenca dialis died, husband gave up his role

  • Didn’t require training


Statue of Pudicitia

  • covering face (not available)

  • Fully robed (deflects attention)

  • Cult of Patricia Pudicitia only open to patrician matronae that have married just once


Plebeia Pudicitia

  • Verginia was patrician matrona married to plebeian man (commoner)

  • She was rejected from Patricia Pudicitia Cult due to husband’s class

  • Established Plebeia Pudicitia, but eventually became corrupted & fell out of practice


Clodius Pulcher at Bona Dea

  • Bona Dea ritual took place at Ceaser’s house

  • Clodius wanted to sleep with Caesar’s wife (Pompeia)

  • Clodius dressed as a woman to get in

  • Was discovered as a man and kicked out

  • Caesar divorced Pompeia as affair rumours arose and she was under suspicion


Sibyls

  • Roman prophetesses that wrote the Sibylline books

  • Sibylline books were oracles

    • They were turned to in times of national emergency

    • Suggestions were mainly symbolic, so didn’t have significant effect on city life


Quindecemviri

  • male priests that were keepers of sibylline books


Athenian assembly

  • matters of political importance were voted on every 9 days

  • Conditions to become a member of the assembly:

    • Athenian citizen

    • Over 18

    • Served in military for at least 2 years

    • Never been a slave

    • Paid all taxes

    • Male

  • Aristophanes’ Assemblywomen mocks women’s political capabilities


Trial of Agnodice

  • Agnodice trained as a physician in Egypt to help women through pregnancy in Athens

  • Pretended to be a man

  • Became popular among patients as they preferred her to male doctors

  • Male doctors became suspicious

  • Group of jealous husbands brought case against her

  • During trial, Agnodice revealed identity & wives of the husbands entered court and free her of charges & amend law so women could study medicine

    • story demonstrates women’s influence over male relatives


Oppian law

  • after battle of Cannae, oppian law forced husbands to contribute some of wives’ jewellery to city treasury

  • Even after 20 years when crisis was over, law still endured

  • A crowd of matronae blocked roads to repeal the oppian law

  • It was eventually repealed


Cataline

  • consul candidate who lost the elections several times (famously lost to Cicero)

  • Due to bribery & campaigning he was almost bankrupt

  • He started to devise a plot to overthrow the Republic

  • He failed to do so and the conspirators were executed after controversial vote in the senate

  • Recruited women to his plot as he thought they could help him win support of husbands & slaves


Sempronia

  • wife of ex-consul

  • Highly educated (spoke Greek & Roman)

  • Sallust presents her with skills of ideal matrona

  • Involved in Cataline conspiracy