Women in Etruria AncientSites >Rome > Groups >Etruria New Vines "Products Contest" with $500 in Prizes! Places To Go!Today's PostsRomeAthensEgyptBabylonTaraMachuPicchuNewYorkAncientSitesSite MapAncientVine Rome Board Index | Rome Daily Posts Board: Etruria Topic: Women in Etruria Topic Editor: Nesnut Hatshepsut Topic Description: Etruscan women enjoyed a gr... Email this post to a friend! Message: Women in Etruria Author: Lauchum - Camitlnas Tullius, Patron Date: Aug 4, 2000 08:39 Interesting Post Melissa, and I agree with your comments on the Egyptians Publius. Certainly Egyptian women had a considerable influence in their society, particularly when we read Nefertiti's correspondences with the king of the Hittites when he proposed that his son should marry her after the untimely death of her husband. I am winging this from memory - so any Egyptologists out there please feel free to corrects me if you so desire :) I think it was Heroditus when writing of the Etruscans said that the Lydians have similar customs to the Greeks, with the exception that they brought up their girls differently. It could be this East Greek influence, or generally Eastern influence which had such a marked effect on Etruscan society in terms of the role of women. The role of Latian women was by contrast subservient. (qv. Lucretia) A later reference states that in the earlier days of Rome, women could be put to death for even a sip from the wine flask. Other authors have commented that this could have been a misinterpreted joke from the theatre of the time given that Early Roman interment graves have been found with wine jugs in the grave. Having said that I believe that Early Rome had a considerable Etruscan influence, so this is very much a grey area in terms of its interpretation. It is also a very controversial subject, as evidenced by the weight of criticism directed at those authors who fail to make the distinction between Latium and Etruria when discussing Early Rome. It appears to be a taboo subject for some unknown reason. Certainly Livy, Diodorus Sicolus et al had something to fear when writing their histories. This is understandable when you look at the fate of people like Cicero (although unrelated- it highlights the need for discretion). Can you imagine what would have happened to 1st Century BCE historians who gave Rome a bad press? Next: Role of women in Religion ( Lauchum - Camitlnas Tullius ) Previous: Melissa, ( - Publius Tertius )