For women in ancient Rome, the family consisted of the conjugal pair, holdings of land and properties, children, married sons and the sons children, daughters-in-law, slaves and clients (Wives). It was an assemblage of what belonged to the ascendant male. All legal rights and power belonged to the man. He had total control over the family and had power of life and death over his children; could sell his child into slavery for whatever reason whenever he wished; a daughter remained under his control unless he consented to give her in marriage; he held absolute power over his slaves and all female relatives under his guardianship; and held all rights over his wife - to punish, banish, denounce, divorce and execute her if he wished.
Women had no rights in ancient Rome (Wives). However, she had considerably more freedom than her Greek counterpart. Unlike her Greek sister, she was allowed to eat with the men, and was not required to remain at home in seclusion while the man was away. Women in Rome could not claim dower rights to a husbandÆs estate, or appear as a witness in court, hold office, vote, or serve as a judge or advocate. She was not restricted from owning property and wealth, and husbands often transferred wealth to wives to avoid taxes and lawsuits.
By Julius CaesarÆs time, women had won many freedoms and, through wealth, grew powerful and became influential through marriage, adulterous liaisons and intrigues (Wives). Most women did little or no physical labor at home, other than weaving, which was an acceptable expression of virtue. They did oversee the slaves and the home. Many also oversaw the education of their children. Much less is known about the lower class women of Rome, other than they ran shops, were nurses, laborers, domestic weavers, and skilled craftsmen. Others were prostitutes, with their own state-sanctioned guild.
Women in ancient Greece lived through a period of oppression, where t...