In Ancient Rome, there was a pretty cool group of women
called the Vestals. Basically, they were in charge of keeping a sacred fire going,
which makes a bit of sense considering they are the priestesses of Vesta, who
is the goddess of the hearth.
This small group of women however, served as a little
incubator of progressive treatment of women. The vestals, though expected to
stay abstinent, were in a sense freed from the patriarchy, were able to vote
and own land, had political influence, had privileges when it came to things
like athletic games, and were trusted to handle important documents. Granted,
they were thought to be a driving force in the survival of Rome, but I still
think the privileges they were given were pretty amazing for the time period.
1 comment:
You're right, being a Vestal definitely had to have been more of a blessing than a sacrifice. They basically got to maintain the same liberties after 30 years of service (which was when they could leave) AND finally marry. What I think's cool is that many chose to stay with the order after serving for such a long interim - many women felt they had a purpose as a Vestal and compared to other women in their society, they did. It sucks that Emperor Theodosius put an end to the Vestal order; this limited the free exercise of religion and women in terms of their role in society.
Post a Comment