Roman Civilization

CMS 206 /History 206

Mike Jensen on Leach, Flory and Wardle

1. Mike Jensen on Leach, Flory and Wardle

   Mike Jensen, CMS 206, Analytical Assignment for Week 3, Word Count: 1059

   The Politics in Society during Augustan Rule

    

   The three articles that I will be examining are "The Integration

   of Women into the Roman Triumph," "Agrippa's Refusal of a Triumph in 19

   BC," and "Achilles, the Campus Martius, and the Articulation of Gender

   Roles in Augustan Rome." I was interested in these particular articles

   because I was curious about how politics shaped Roman society during the

   time of Augustus. In this article, I will examine the role of women and

   female influence in Roman society, along with the procedures necessary to

   earn a triumph. By doing this, I will attempt to show how views of

   certain members of society during Augustus' rule reflected a possible

   cultural and political shift away from the dominant form of politics set forth during the time of the Republic.

   In "The Integration of Women into the Roman Triumph," the author

   charts this long and drawn out integration of women by citing examples

   beginning with the triumphs during Augustus' reign. As we learned in

   class, only members of Augustus' family had the right to be part of a

   triumph. Furthermore, the appearance of sons in a triumph served as an

   exemplum of his male heirs. This also reinforced the fact that women were

   not to be part of a triumphal procession outside of acting as spectators

   or giving thanks to the gods, which was an act undertaken by everyone.

   However, women began to play more of a role in triumphs during the late

   Augustan period due mainly to Livia. In 9 BC, Livia hosted two large

   banquets for Roman success in military battles and for the death of her

   elder son. Although Livia did not play a major role this celebration, her

   act got the ball rolling for the inclusion of other women into what had

   formerly been male-dominated traditions. In 17 AD, Livia, along with

   Antonia and Agrippa, was invited to a senatorial discussion to rule on the

   appropriate honor to be bestowed on Grammaticus for his victories in battle. While women were starting to have a say behind the scenes, the

   first noteworthy introduction of a woman into an actual triumph occurred

   in 44 AD. At this time, Claudius was celebrating a triumph over the

   Britians and he allowed his wife Messalina to ride in a chariot directly

   behind him in the parade. This act set the precedent for the inclusion of

   women into the Roman triumph and was followed by many other acts, giving

   more rights to women. This was of particular significance because with

   the inclusion of women into formerly all-male traditions, women were able

   to have more of an influence in society at large.

   The article titled "Achilles, the Campus Martius, and the

   Articulation of Gender Roles in Augustan Rome" presents the dominant male

   attitude towards women during the Augustan period. The article shows the

   relationship between politics and gender roles in a society that

   encouraged boys to pursue a sort of old-fashioned educational regimen. By

   examining Achilles, the author best shows the attitude towards women as

   depicted in stories and paintings. One theory is that Achilles was kept

   secluded by females throughout his life, raising questions as to the true nature of his gender. In artworks from this period, Achilles is depicted

   as having very feminine-like qualities when compared with the likes of

   Odysseus. The truth is that no one actually knows how Achilles lived his

   day-to-day life, but we can clearly see by his description, that women

   were considered to be of the weaker sex. Furthermore, evidence can be

   gathered from such events as the Lusus Troiae. This was sort of an

   adolescent military training ritual that readied boys for manhood.

   However, the ritual has been argued that it actually served to suppress

   newfound desires in teenage boys, reinforcing the need for maintaining

   authority over women.

   In "Agrippa's refusal of a Triumph in 19 BC," the nature of

   politics during the Augustan period is shown through the awarding of

   triumphs. While some historians see Agrippa's "refusal" of a triumph as

   motivated by pride and annoyance, many historians believe that his refusal

   was actually manipulated by Augustus himself. As we have discussed in

   class, the awarding of a triumph was a somewhat complicated process.

   Since Agrippa was merely a legate of Augustus, he did not hold the highest imperium. This was a key aspect of Augustus' rule. Since he did not

   grant triumphs to legates (even if they had earned the right as in

   Agrippa's case), Augustus was able to keep political power within his

   immediate family. The mere fact that legates did not have the imperium to

   be awarded triumphs was also overshadowed by the fact that Augustus had

   the final say in the matter. So no matter if a legate had imperium,

   Augustus had the power to intervene and overrule the Senate's decision.

   This made the Senate aware of the fact that Augustus had total military

   and political power in Rome. Thusly, the power to shape society and

   tradition was largely controlled by the person in charge at the time.

   This is supported by the fact that years later, under Marcus Antonius'

   rule, he allowed his legates to triumph, effectively spreading his

   political power outside of his immediate family.

   The general theme of these three articles was the fact that

   politics differed with each change in Roman rule. While previous rulers

   may have established traditions within the culture, a new ruler could

   effectively overturn these pre-existing notions at will. In the case of Augustus, we can see how his command caused shifts in the nature of

   society, in part by changing the structure of social events. Not only did

   he alter the process of achieving a triumph, but he modified the makeup of

   triumphs as well. Women were slowly being integrated into triumphs, while

   woman's political power seemed to increase beginning during the Augustan

   period. However, while the Roman "Women's Movement" was at its

   developmental stages, the general attitude towards women was that they

   were the weaker of the sexes. What we can infer from the final article is

   that Augustus had the power to shape the structure of society to serve his

   needs. While Augustus may be seen by our standards as a selfish, sexist

   pig, he provides a good example of how Roman culture could change with new

   leaders coming into power.