Painting, Pots, and Burials

An Analysis of Pre-Roman Women in Southern Italy

Abstract

Research on gender in Ancient Rome has been well underway in the past couple of decades and has revealed the rigidity of gender roles and the limitations placed on women through the Republic into the Empire. On the other hand, research on women in pre-Roman societies has been limited. Considering the early cultural interactions between Roman and non-Roman populations in the Italian peninsula, it is not a given that gender roles were the same across the region. Through an analysis of different kinds of material culture — particularly ceramics and grave goods — it is apparent that the social mobility of women in the regions of Campania and Apulia was more flexible than in Ancient Rome. Women were able to build their own status and wealth through ritual banquets and familial associations, pointing to a slightly more egalitarian society than previously believed. This research paper aims to highlight pre-Roman women of Southern Italy in order to open the doors for more discussion and research on these oft-overlooked figures of ancient society.