The Punic Wars: The Perception Of Women

Within a Civilization, women are without a doubt the most necessary component to ensure that a population thrives and grows in the necessary direction. However, most women over time are not respected nor displayed in the correct manner that would fully embody what it means to be a woman. From Eve illustrating sin in the Bible to current issues such as period taxes or wage gap between genders, women seem to be of lesser importance than males. A woman’s place in ancient society is to only resemble the values of chastity and modesty above all other virtues while also maintaining the household during antiquity. Women are held to a higher standard which merely leaves room for error in comparison to males who can “rightfully” engage in extramarital

How women are portrayed by men exemplifies how women have to demonstrate themselves in a manner that does not go above and beyond the norm. It seems as though women are depicted as extremely irate and not being able to control the motives surrounding their emotions. During the Punic Wars, Romans passed the Oppian Law to restrict extravagant behavior among women. This law caused an uproar among women exposing the void in the male perception of women. Roman males could have been seen as fragile which lead to an overexaggerated response to the revolution. Cato defended his law by stating, “if you allow them to pull away these restraints and wrench them out. One after another, and finally put themselves on an equality with their husbands, do you imagine that you will be able to tolerate them?” (Livy 34.3). This can equate in men believing that women are selfish. In Pot of Gold, Phyhodicus thinks that women are selfish by saying, “the devils down below would feast while the angels up on high are fasting… and our house is absolutely plunderful and pillagey.” With the belief that women are causing wreckage to the household by choosing themselves over their husbands and families, is the epitome of men pouting when they are not able to get their way (Lines

Horace demonstrates how women are able to manipulate men by using their emotions. In his Ode to Pyrrha, Horace personifies Pyrrha as a storm by saying, “how often will he weep because of the fickleness of the gods, wondering at the way the darkening wind disturbs the calm waters” (Ode 1.5). This is typical of poets, especially Horace, because the expression of hurt comes in metaphors to describe women in the same predictability as a storm. This also demonstrates how men were not as accepting of rejection which they in term lash out against women to express their anger. In another Ode, Horace describes Cleopatra in such a way that his pride won’t allow him to genuinely compliment her but also complimenting her at the same time. By saying, “crazed with hope and drunk with her past successes, [she] was planning the death and destruction of the empire. But, comrades, she came to and sobered up, when not one ship, almost all her fleet,” Horace shows that he is not willing to give Cleopatra the benefit of the doubt but is willing to downplay the choices that she is making. Similarly, in the Aeneid, Vergil’s depiction of women as emotional beings unfolds as the epic progresses. In book one, Vergil over exaggerates Juno’s fury through his choice of words. He says, “Muse, tell me why. What stung the queen of