Women in Ancient Rome were often viewed and treated as property. Enormous gender inequality ruled all aspects of life. A woman first belonged to her father and then to her husband. In cases w

An even more powerful example of a powerful woman in the Empire is that of Agrippina the Younger, who married the emperor Claudius in 49 A.D. By this time, Claudius was nearing the end of his life. Agrippina, being an ambitious and intelligent woman married to an emperor considered to be somewhat of a weakling, took the reins of power into her own hands. During the last five years of Claudius' reign, she grew more and more powerful. At the time of their marriage, Agrippina had a teenage son named Nero who was to become the future Roman emperor of that name. She immediately secured his future by having Claudius adopt him. In 54 A.D., Claudius died after being poisoned. Some early historians suggest that Agrippina murdered him. When Nero ascended the throne, he was only seventeen and could not legally rule on his own. Agrippina acted as his regent and was a powerful controlling influence on him even after he had reached the age of eighteen and could govern in his own right. For the first time in Roman history, a woman was given the title of empress, and her portrait appeared on coins with that of her son. She was the first woman of the imperial household to be portrayed on a coin before she died.

Under the Empire, women were fully aware of their power over men, which they did not hesitate to use. The story of Livia Drusilla did well to illustrate this point. Livia was originally married to Tiberius Claudius Nero until Augustus forced him to divorce her and become his own wife. Policitical marriages of this type were common during the Republic and early Empire. Livia was a member of the powerful Claudian family, and Augustus needed her wealth and influence to establish his position. Livia was an intelligent and efficient administrative helper to her new husband. In spite of the political nature of their marriage, Augustus and Livia loved each other deeply. With his dying words, the emperor asked his wife of fifty-two years to remember their life together. Because Livia and Augustus had no children together, Tiberius, Livia's son from her marriage with Nero, inherited the throne after Augustus' death. Livia continued to exert her influence over her son Tiberius until her death in 29 A.D. at the age of eighty-five. Livia played an important part in the unique power that Augustus obtained. After her death, Livia was deified, not as the mother of Tiberius, but on virtue of her merits.

Because of the rural peasant's lifestyle, it was difficult to impose the same restrictions on these women as on their wealthier counterparts. Most peasants, anxious to get the crops harvested or the sheep tended, did not have time to bother with checking up on their wives and making sure they are behaving properly. He needed her help more than anything else. A peasant and his wife would have worked side by side farming and tending to livestock. However, these women were still constrained by reproductive life. Without any effective contraception, besides the risky, crude, and uncleanly practice of abortion, women were destined to a life of childbearing. Many of them died in the process - childbearing probably carried off as many women as war killed men. Those who did survive nursed and tended babies who thems

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Approximate Word count = 2186
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)