The female role in economy and evergetism in the Early Roman Empire

Abstract

For centuries, the socioeconomic work carried out by Roman women has been silenced while giving prominence to an idyllic image of a midwife dedicated to her home, her husband and her children. The objective of this article will be, on the one hand, to analyze the participation of Roman women in two spheres that are initially masculine, such as economy and evergetism, and on the other hand, the study of the male point of view in front of these women who went out of their traditional role. We will focus especially on the period of the Early Roman Empire because is the period of heyday and the expansion of the Roman world and it is during this that we find most information, especially epigraphic about the topics we are dealing with, although we will also see some references to other periods. We will start by talking about the women who became involved in the economic sphere through business, property management and the large-scale trade. Later on, we will see how, through evergetian acts, they gained prestige and influence in their cities despite not being able to intervene activaly in politics. To conclude with, we will examine several texts of some of the most famous writers of their time to see what the male’s vision of these kinds of women and the economic freedoms that they could have.