Vestal Virgins, Sibyls, and Matrons: Women in Roman Religion

One. The Silent Ones Speak

Women have their uses for historians. They offer relief from warfare, legislation, and the history of ideas; and they enrich the central theme of social history. . . . Ladies of rank . . . are a seductive topic. —ronald syme, the augustan aristocr acy Literature, a cross-section of genres, provides us with paragons and opposites of Roman womanhood. It is here that we encounter makers and destroyers of Rome, where we see women move outside the private, domestic sphere and enter the public arena. Some were harshly judged for their abandonment of family; others were not. All the judges were men, for it is their records we have, employ, and analyze. Literary examples make clear the distinctions between a respectable and disreputable Roman woman. The emphasis is on moral behavior, understood as the single most important factor for the proper functioning of society. Roman historical writing, in particular, demanded moralization and much hinges on the private/public category. The most revealing literary evidence in regard to women and their actions taken for the benefit or detriment of Roman society often surfaces in accounts linked to transitional periods of Roman history. While Rome’s political structure remained that of a city, which was simply projected onto an expanding empire, the social and economic fabric changed rapidly. Romans and their gods formed a single community. Politics and religion were intertwined. Ancient societies were culturally more integrated than modern ones. Thus, unlike their modern counterparts, who try to step outside societal boundaries, ancient writers and artists were involved in representing and perpetuating their society and its norms. It is no surprise then that Latin writers relate a person’s or group’s moral failing or a religious ritual not properly executed as the single most important cause for social or poone the silent ones speak vestal virgins, sibyls, and matrons 2 litical problems, regardless of how complex they might actually have been. One can make a case that this type of reductionism to simple sequences of cause and effect remained intact until the Enlightenment. Moreover, Latin literature was very much a product of Rome’s selfde finition vis-à-vis the much cherished Greek intellectual accomplishments. Decisive in the emergence of Latin literature was Rome’s success over Carthage , in particular, the Second Punic War (218–201 BCE), which resulted in Rome’s hegemony over the Mediterranean World. Another such watershed moment for Latin literature was the Age of Augustus (31 BCE), part of the so-called Golden Age of Latin literature (ca. 75 BCE–14 CE). Scholars have established and accepted it as the highpoint of literary achievement and the ultimate measure for anything literary before and after.1 But even more, Augustus’ reforms touched every aspect of Roman life. His marriage laws and religious innovations, for example, are at times interpreted as a reactionary attempt to return to true Republican values, which had been lost through the continued civil war period. Looking at the evidence, however, one can argue that Augustus’ attempt was a turning back to a fictitious past, a fiction that ultimately became a defining reality. Texts, which form the core of the study of Roman history, provide the potential of remembrance and temporal continuity. But the coherent whole, construed from various literary sources, is in fact inconsistent. It is the task of the modern historian to analyze these reporting and reflective, diverse, creative sources, as well as the material evidence, to discover a more complete picture and generate a better understanding of Rome. beginnings Rome’s beginnings are shrouded in myths. It is only with the fourth and third centuries BCE that historical information can be confirmed. The late Republican antiquarian Varro (116–127 BCE), writing the Antiquities Human and Divine, established the city’s founding date as April 21, 753 BCE.2 The most detailed account of the founding, however, we find in the first book of Livy’s historical narrative From the Foundation of the City. It so happened that for a time without any tangible literary data, writers produced highly detailed narratives. Artistic creativity found in myths, for example, material that was refashioned to form a cohesive historical narrative . Mythic and historical times that were fused together shaped, and still shape, our understanding of regal and early Republican Rome. 2 vestal virgins, sibyls, and matrons the silent ones speak 3 The twins Romulus and Remus were descendants of the kings of Alba...