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3 - Agrippina and Company

Elite Women in the Castra

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 October 2024

By
Lee L. Brice  and
Georgia Tsouvala
Edited by
Lee L. Brice  and
Elizabeth M. Greene
Lee L. Brice
Affiliation:
Western Illinois University
Elizabeth M. Greene
Affiliation:
University of Western Ontario
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Summary

This chapter examines the presence and role(s) played by elite women in military camps during the early Principate. The chapter starts with a consideration of our sources for elite women and the nature of Roman authors’ treatment of military women. Status consciousness was ever present so the authors define which women could be considered as elite in military settings. After reviewing evidence for elite women in camps the authors examine elite women through the lens of Agrippina the Elder. As a member of the imperial family Agrippina received an unusual level of attention from ancient authors which results in more evidence about her activities in camp. Comparing Agrippina’s behavior with the diverse evidence for other elite women yields a sense of how these women were comporting themselves in military settings. The study reveals that elite women were not disruptive troublemakers. Perhaps not surprisingly, elite women behaved in accordance with Roman culture expectations and elite gender norms, as would have been expected of a Roman matrona.

Keywords

WomenAgrippina MajorfortsRoman armymatronaelitestatuswivesofficers
Type
Chapter
Information
Women and the Army in the Roman Empire , pp. 54 - 83
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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