Social Structure Freeborn Freedmen Slaves Women

Freeborn Men Had full legal rights Could hold political office Included wealthy landowners and business men Could be members of the town council Controlled public finances, space and religion Had privileged seats in amphitheatre and theatre Received honorary statues and tombs

Freeborn Women Could not hold formal political office Were under legal control of fathers or husbands Could own property Conducted businesses Constructed buildings and tombs Were priestesses Supported electoral candidates Received honorary statues and tombs Appeared to have much more freedom than their counterparts in Rome

Freedmen (liberti) Men and women freed from slavery Often worked for former masters Many became wealthy and influential Could not hold formal political office

Male Freedmen Voted in elections Owned businesses Participated in some religious cults Could become an Augustalis (Priest of the cult of the Emperor)

Slaves Approximately 40% of population of Pompeii Little evidence of their lives remains Few houses had separate slave quarters Domestic work was common Few tombstones attributed to slaves Some owned by the town council Some houses specifically for slaves – e.g House of Menander and House of the Centenary

Women in Public Life Examples of rich women who managed their own affairs without males Tablets by the banker Caecilius Jucundus name 14 women as important clients Graffito indicates women made public declarations of political support – Taedia Secunda canvassing votes for her grandson According to Savunen the programmata (electoral campaign) was an activity in which women actively participated as members of the community and electoral district

Women and Work Evidence of tavern owners, bakery workers, those in the cloth trade, vegetable sellers, weavers, doctors and money lenders According to Fanthem et al ‘Vettia accepted from Faustilla 15 denarii with 8 assess in interest’. Lower class women were often household servants, cooks, cleaners, wet nurses and prostitutes.

Upper Class Women Could read and write, either from school or a tutor They could often read Latin or Greek, sing and play an instrument – Juvenal Priestesses were usually upper class and were held in high esteem  This is seen through tombs found dedicated to priestesses by the council and rich families

Example - Eumachia Important businesswoman Family owned a brick making works and vineyards She constructed a large public building in the Forum that bears her name – the Eumachia building The inscription on the building reads ‘ Eumachia, the public priestess of Venus, daughter of Lucius, had the vestibule, the covered gallery and the porticoes made with her own money…’

Prostitutes Prostitution not illegal and seen as normal for men Women considered disreputable They must register with the Aediles and were taxed on it Wives, daughters and granddaughters of patrician families forbidden to be prostitutes Some high class courtesans were well kept and could afford luxurious homes Foreign women were popular as they were not subject to the same social constraints as Roman women Status from graffiti hard to tell but most likely slaves, freedwomen and foreigners

Where did they operate? Brothels called Lupenar  Comes from lupae (she wolf) Graffiti in many named the women and the services they offered  One customer wrote ‘Here I had sex with a beautiful woman girl admired by many’ Many waited under archways  Fornicate = formix (arch) and prostituto (to hang about outside)

Professor Andrew Wallace noted the following were present archeologically to indicate a lupenar  Usually located on a corner  Had at least 5 small cramped rooms  Contained masonry beds and pillows  Interior walls had a large amount of obscene graffiti  Contained erotic paintings of sex acts Professor Thomas McGinn has identified at least 26 brothels, usually close to public baths None found so far in Herculaneum but it is assumed prostitution occurred there too