Why did the romans believe that men and women by nature were equal?

Question

any ideas? i've been trying to research but nothing seemed to help.

Answer 1

Well, Romans changed quite a lot in the 1000 or so years they were around.  In the very ancient times, all family members belonged to Dad - and he could kill them if he wanted - kids, wife - whatever.  So the only real 'citizen' was a man - and his wife and kiddies were his property.

By the time of the Empire - right around the time of Christ - women had become much more 'free'.  The law probably stated that they were still property (and they didn't vote), but they were holding land and stuff like that and had money of their own.  

The Romans were very moral people - and so there were real strict laws about how you treated women and kids.  So often women and kids were treated alright - but they remained largely property to the end of Rome.  And no - no real sense of equality there like we think of today.

And then women only gained the vote in the US in 1919...

Answer 2

because we are equal

Answer 3

Says who?

Women in Roman society were not given much power. Politics and trades were the domain of men. In fact, the Romans often feared powerful women such as queens. For example, the Romans did not look favorably on Cleopatra, fearing that their Emperor Julius Caesar was under the spell of this foreign queen. Another woman, Queen Boudicca, lead a revolt in Britain. Yet there were times in which women influenced the political process. For example, in the time after the assassination of Julius Caesar, the political leaders targeted 1,400 rich women to raise taxes for their war. Hortensia, the daughter of a lawyer, spoke out against the tax which caused the political rulers to tax only 400 of the women.

The lives of woman varied greatly based on their position in society. The women who came from the wealthy level of society had much of their daily labor done by slaves. A slave would help wash the female master's face, give her a rubdown with scented oils, and spend hours setting her hair into curls. The wealthy women would spend much of their days socializing and planning their next entertainment with their friends.

Few women were fortunate enough to lead a life of leisure. Women were in charge of raising children and keeping house. Since there was no birth control in Roman times......

http://www.historylink102.com/Rome/roman...

A famous line of Cicero, which very well describes the status of Roman women, reads as follows;

'Our ancestors, in their wisdom, considered that all women, because of their innate weakness, should be under the control of guardians.'

A woman's guardian would inevitably be a man. Normally, it would be first the father and then her husband, but, in case of the early death of her father or husband, it could also be a male relative appointed in the man's will or even by a state official.

Until the end of the Roman republic there were only the six vestal virgins who were free from such guardianship. Then, after the reign of Augustus, guardianship was no longer applied to women, whose father and husband had died and who had already borne three children (3 children for freeborn women, 4 for freedwomen).

Girls enjoyed a similar, if not the same education as boys in early childhood. Though beyond primary education it was generally only daughters of aristocratic families who continued their education. Though such training was not one of rhetoric or law such as the young men of patrician families would learn. Women were rather taught in the fineries Greek and Latin literature as well as how to play a lyre, to dance and sing.

It was usual for marriages to be arranged. The size of the dowry was estimated to befit the social standing of the prospective bridegroom.

It was the Roman custom to arranging marriages for girls when they were still very young. She would then need to wait until she became an adult until the marriage could take place. Being betrothed for such a lengthy time generally meant for girls to lead a very retired life. For to be seen as flirting, or even simply being in contact with other boys or could be seen as a breech in the marriage arrangements.

Though with marriage the Roman woman gained considerable freedom......

http://www.roman-empire.net/society/soci...

Answer 4

I don't believe that they did.  Women had more liberties than in other cultures but they weren't equal.  The ideal of virtuous Roman Womanhood was Lucretia, who, after being raped, and telling her husband to go exact revenge, still committed suicide, crying "Death before dishonor".

However, Vestal Virgins enjoyed most liberties that men did, including special box seats at the games.  And some noble women were quite prominent.  Research Augustus' wife Livia, but be careful, because the gossipy historians made her out to be quite the power hungry beetch.

Also, there may have been slightly more equality for women in Roman times because there were cults of goddesses active.  Minerva was a warrior goddess who was also the goddess of wisdom.

Two more famous women of ancient Rome are mostly famous for their sons, but still worth researching, One was the mother of Coriolanus, who saved Rome from destruction.  The other is Cornelia, Mother of the Gracchi, her two sons were killed for being populist politicians trying to gain rights for the common people.

Answer 5

its actually more of the greeks who thought we we equal, they trained their women to fight and hunt and  do man things while the men were away conquering places, and they had women elected rulers and that whole trojan war thing was because of HELEN of troy. the romans didnt appreciate women much, altough they did have some godessess, but that all ended when they converted to catholicism who does not view women as equals. they did not allow women priestesses or rulers, and definately no godesses. (things are much better with modernn catholics though)- hah im one of them