Women in Ancient Rome

What was the role of women in ancient Rome?

• They were authors and wrote most of the history books.

• They were not thought of as “important.”

• They were the most famous leaders and philosophers.

• They were mostly doctors and scientists.

What did Roman women do in the home?

• They were the head of the family and controlled what everyone in the household did.

• They took care of the home, either by themselves or with help from slaves.

• They made decisions about how the household should be run.

• They took care of the home until they decided they wanted to get married.

How did women in ancient Rome have power?

• They were elected to political office and sat on important councils.

• They passed laws to benefit themselves and change society.

• They owned businesses and could make deals with important people.

• They voted for laws they thought would increase the status of women.

PART A: Which of the following statements best expresses the central idea of the text?

• Women in ancient Rome had no power because they could not vote or run their own businesses.

• Women did not have a lot of power or rights in ancient Rome, but sometimes they could influence those who did.

• Women in ancient Rome were often overlooked by historians because they did not accomplish anything worth recording.

• Women in ancient Rome only held power in their homes, where they held complete control and served as the heads of their households.

PART B: Which of the following quotes best supports the answer to Part A?

• “Most of history has been written by very few people. We often do not get to hear from smaller groups or from women.” ( Paragraph 1)

• Roman men made all of the choices under their roofs, but women took care of the domus, either for a day while their husbands were at work, or for many years” ( Paragraph 2)

• “Even though women were thought of as citizens, Roman law said they could not be in office and they could not vote.” ( Paragraph 4)

• “Even though they had no legal power over political office, Roman women still had powerful friends… they had power over other people.” ( Paragraph 6)

Which statement best describes the role of ancient Roman women in the domus?

• Women stood as the heads of the household, or domus, which was the one place where she could exercise a lot of power.

• A woman’s role in the domus depended on many different things, like age and wealth, but usually she was under the control of the pater familias.

• A woman’s role in the domus only changed when the pater familias went to war, leaving her in charge of the family’s wealth.

• Women were only allowed to engage in household chores and responsibilities once they were married to another family’s pater familias.

Which of the following statements best describes the author’s purpose in this text?

• to inform readers about women in ancient Rome who are often overlooked in history

• to explain why ancient Rome did not allow women to be citizens or to vote in elections

• to portray the politics and everyday households of ancient Rome through the female perspective

• to argue that more people with female perspectives should study history and the lives of ancient women