Conspicuous concealment : an investigation into the veiling of Roman women, with special reference to the time of Augustus.

Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2007.Although there is much evidence for the practice of female veiling in the Classical world it has for the most part been ignored. Evidence for the veiling of Roman women is found in many sources. Ancient lexicographers list many names for veils that these women wore. Each of these veils was particular to the context in which they were worn and by whom they were worn. The plenitude of veiling terminology as well as the specialized nature of these veils alerts the reader to the importance that the Romans attributed to the veil, suggesting that it formed an important part of their culture and this is described in visual and literary terms by ancient artists and writers. From discussions on modern veiling it is possible, through the application of a comparative methodology, to create models that can elucidate the Roman system. From anthropological studies undertaken on modern veiling cultures, it can be appreciated how notions of 'honour' and 'shame,' a belief in the evil-eye, the polluting force of the female body and the use of the veil as a means of sexual communication influenced Roman veiling. In this way it becomes possible to understand how the veil became a marker for the positive forces of femininity and for the containment of the negative influences. The veil became a signifier of sound gender relations. The fact that this vestimentary code is able to generate meaning in the minds of observers is because it works in conjunction with a rhetorical system of dress. The practice of veiling is therefore viewed by the Romans in a positive light, and its disruption is understood by them as a cause for concern. This concern was especially apparent during the late republic. The dissolution of the traditional forms of government was in some ways problematized in terms of gender, with women's abandonment of their traditional roles and their incursion into the public sphere being of specific importance. In order to remedy this, attempts were made by the new regime of Augustus to promote a return to what were seen to be traditional gender relations. This programme of moral reform made use of both formal, legalistic decree (the Julian marriage laws) and more propagandistic constructions (the public works of art). In this process traditional symbols assumed a high degree of salience. Because of its power to signify the beneficial and appropriate status of the female body, one of the most important of these symbols was the veil. In this dissertation the artistic and literary manifestations of veiling and its social and political significance are discussed with specific reference to the Augustan period

Veiled or unveiled? (Plut. Quaest. Rom. 267B–C).

No abstract available.Published online: 18 April 2008

Roman constructions of fortuna

This thesis investigates the Roman idea of fortuna, by examining its representation in different media (coins, cults, philosophy, and literature) and the thought worlds which these media inhabited. Drawing chiefly on evidence from the late Republic and the first two centuries of the Empire, I examine the interactions between the meanings of fortuna and the contexts in which they occur, showing how fortuna was used to construct understandings of broader social processes. Chapter 1 charts how various groups and individuals appropriated the religious character of fortuna into discourses of power to promote their interests, from the first archaic cults through to Imperial fortunae. By propitiating fortuna, the founders and worshippers of these cults attempted to ‘tame’ fortuna by representing themselves or the groups to which they belonged as particularly favoured by this deity. Chapter 2 examines how literary authors used fortuna to talk about ideas of social status, luck, chance, and fate. How these authors chose to describe fortuna, or which powers they chose to ascribe to her, were choices frequently determined by the text’s relationship to the structures of Roman power. Chapter 3 examines the iconography of fortuna on Imperial coins, for which I used a statistical methodology to quantify her numismatic representation. This sets our understanding of the interconnections between numismatic iconography and cultural and political history on a firmer basis and allows us to analyse more precisely how fortuna was imagined in imperial ideology. I look at the periods in which fortuna was most often deployed and when her iconography and legends underwent the greatest changes, discussing the political and cultural contexts that motivated these uses. Chapter 4 addresses philosophical conceptions of fortuna. I look at what was peculiarly Roman about how Roman Stoics and Epicureans figured fortuna in their physics and ethics, focusing especially on the philosophical and cultural implications of their concern with fortuna

Roman constructions of fortuna

This thesis investigates the Roman idea of fortuna, by examining its representation in different media (coins, cults, philosophy, and literature) and the thought worlds which these media inhabited. Drawing chiefly on evidence from the late Republic and the first two centuries of the Empire, I examine the interactions between the meanings of fortuna and the contexts in which they occur, showing how fortuna was used to construct understandings of broader social processes. Chapter 1 charts how various groups and individuals appropriated the religious character of fortuna into discourses of power to promote their interests, from the first archaic cults through to Imperial fortunae. By propitiating fortuna, the founders and worshippers of these cults attempted to ‘tame’ fortuna by representing themselves or the groups to which they belonged as particularly favoured by this deity. Chapter 2 examines how literary authors used fortuna to talk about ideas of social status, luck, chance, and fate. How these authors chose to describe fortuna, or which powers they chose to ascribe to her, were choices frequently determined by the text’s relationship to the structures of Roman power. Chapter 3 examines the iconography of fortuna on Imperial coins, for which I used a statistical methodology to quantify her numismatic representation. This sets our understanding of the interconnections between numismatic iconography and cultural and political history on a firmer basis and allows us to analyse more precisely how fortuna was imagined in imperial ideology. I look at the periods in which fortuna was most often deployed and when her iconography and legends underwent the greatest changes, discussing the political and cultural contexts that motivated these uses. Chapter 4 addresses philosophical conceptions of fortuna. I look at what was peculiarly Roman about how Roman Stoics and Epicureans figured fortuna in their physics and ethics, focusing especially on the philosophical and cultural implications of their concern with fortuna.This thesis is not currently available via ORA