Roman women were the procreators and nurturers of life, both in the
domestic world of the family and in the larger sphere of the state.
Although deterred from participating in most aspects of public
life, women played an essential role in public religious
ceremonies, taking part in rituals designed to ensure the fecundity
and success of the agricultural cycle on which Roman society
depended. Thus religion is a key area for understanding the
contributions of women to Roman society and their importance beyond
their homes and families.
In this book, Sarolta A. Takacs offers a sweeping overview of
Roman women's roles and functions in religion and, by extension, in
Rome's history and culture from the republic through the empire.
She begins with the religious calendar and the various festivals in
which women played a significant role. She then examines major
female deities and cults, including the Sibyl, Mater Magna, Isis,
and the Vestal Virgins, to show how conservative Roman society
adopted and integrated Greek culture into its mythic history,
artistic expressions, and religion. Takacs's discussion of the Bona
Dea Festival of 62 BCE and of the Bacchantes, female worshippers of
the god Bacchus or Dionysus, reveals how women could also
jeopardize Rome's existence by stepping out of their assigned
roles. Takacs's examination of the provincial female flaminate and
the Matres/Matronae demonstrates how women served to bind imperial
Rome and its provinces into a cohesive society.
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