Expanding the discussion of religious participation of women in
ancient Rome, Celia E. Schultz demonstrates that in addition to
observances of marriage, fertility, and childbirth, there were
more--and more important--religious opportunities available to
Roman women than are commonly considered.
Based on research in ancient literature, inscriptions, and
archaeological remains from the fifth to the first century B.C.E.,
Schultz's study shows that women honored gods unaffiliated with
domestic matters, including Hercules and Jupiter; they took part in
commercial, military, and political rites; they often worshipped
alongside men; and they were not confined to the private sphere,
the traditional domain of women. The Vestal Virgins did not stand
alone but were instead the most prominent members of a group of
women who held high-profile religious positions: priestesses of
Ceres, Liber, and Venus; the
flaminica Dialis and the
regina sacrorum; other cult officials; and aristocratic
matrons who often took leading roles in religious observances even
though they were not priestesses. Schultz argues that women were
vital participants--both professional and nonprofessional--in the
religion of the Roman Republic and that social and marital status,
in addition to gender, were important factors in determining their
opportunities for religious participation in the public sphere.