I Bind Theodora: Evidence for Enslaved Women on Attic Curse Tablets
By Sarah Breitenfeld (University of Washington)
If identifying enslaved individuals in the epigraphic record is difficult (Chanoitis 2018), identifying
enslaved women is even more challenging. Not only do few primary sources make their status clear, but
due to their intersectional identity as both women and enslaved people (Crenshaw 1991), enslaved
women continue to be overlooked in scholarship that focuses on gender or enslavement. For this reason, I
assert, curse tablets provide an exciting opportunity to access information about this marginalized group.
The Goddess Feronia and her Worshippers: Gender and Religious Practice in Roman Italy
By Gaia Gianni (Brown University)
The goddess Feronia, identified by Varro as Sabine in origin (LL V, 74), is still largely a mystery. A handful of studies have analyzed individual inscriptions naming Feronia or specific cult locations (Torelli 1973; Sanzi di Mino and Staffa 1996), but only a single monograph has been dedicated to her overall archaeological presence in Italy (Di Fazio 2013), and many aspects of her cult remain unknown. This paper focuses on the analysis of Feronia’s female worshippers, through the study of votive inscriptions dating from the 3rd century BCE through the 2nd century CE.
Gender, Epigraphy, and Mobility in the Roman World: Recovering Female Migrants and Travelers’ Voices in the Roman provinces during the Principate
By Marie-Adeline Le Guennec (Université de Québec à Montréal)
This paper aims to address, through epigraphy, the relationships between gender identities and mobility in Roman Antiquity, with a focus on female mobility in the Western Empire during the Principate. It will analyze the methodology leading to identifying women travelers and migrants in inscriptions, and will show that this documentation, albeit fragmentary, sheds light on female experiences of mobility. Epigraphy reveals that two main factors played on women’ ability, or obligation, to take the road: slave traffic and family migration.
More Than a Woman: The Complex Identities of Rome’s Working Women
By Thomas Andreas Leibundgut (Stanford University)
While most modern scholars would agree that many Roman women worked both in the field and in production (e.g. Becker 2016; Culham 2014: 138–142; Dixon 2004; Groen-Vallinga 2013; Hemelrijk 2016; Holleran 2013; Larsson Lovén 2016; Medina Quintana 2017; Pomeroy 1995: 150–164; Roth 2007; Scheidel 1995, 1996; Treggiari 1976, 1979), very little is known about the lives and identities of ancient working women.
Gender in Amphorae Production: New Insights and Data on the Baetican Olive Oil Economy
By Ivan González Tobar (Université Paul-Valéry, Montpellier 3)
In this paper we present a review of the data and an analysis of gender in the artisanal society known through the epigraphy of stamps on olive oil amphoras from the Roman province of Baetica. The geographical zone studied is the territory of Corduba, capital of the province of Baetica, where more than twenty workshops have benefited from an important renewal of archeological data in last years.
The Vestal Virgins and Cross-Gender Mentoring at Rome: Epigraphic Evidence from the Atrium Vestae
By Morgan Palmer (University of Nebraska-Lincoln)
The Vestal Virgins relied on a system in which more senior members of the order transmitted knowledge of the ritual duties to the newer priestesses, assisting them as they advanced to the rank of Chief Vestal (Seneca De Otio 2.2; DiLuzio 2016). Recent scholarship has highlighted epigraphic evidence for mentoring relationships between Chief Vestals and their advisees (Palmer 2020). The Vestal Octavia Honorata honors her Chief Vestal mentor with an inscription, remarking that she was “always advanced by her recommendations” (CIL 6.2138).