The Murder of Regilla: A Case of Domestic Violence in Antiquity

By Sarah B. Pomeroy

From an acclaimed writer comes a desirable tale of the lifestyles, marriage, and dying of an all yet forgotten Roman girl. Born to an illustrious Roman kinfolk in one hundred twenty five CE, Regilla used to be married on the age of fifteen to Herodes, a prosperous Greek who championed his country's values at a time while Rome governed.

20 years later--and 8 months pregnant together with her 6th child--Regilla died lower than mysterious situations, after a blow to the stomach added by means of Herodes' freedman. Regilla's brother charged Herodes with homicide, yet a Roman court docket (at the urging of Marcus Aurelius) acquitted him. Sarah Pomeroy's research means that regardless of Herodes' erection of various monuments to his deceased spouse, he used to be in truth responsible of the crime.

A pioneer within the learn of historical girls, Pomeroy gathers a large, specified array of proof, from political and relations historical past to Greco-Roman writings and archaeology, to re-create the existence and dying of Regilla. Teasing out the tensions of sophistication, gender, and ethnicity that gird this tale of marriage and homicide, Pomeroy exposes the intimate lifestyles and tragedy of an elite Roman couple. half archaeological research, half historic new version, and half detective tale, The homicide of Regilla will attract all these attracted to the non-public lives of the classical international and in a common and compelling tale of ladies and relatives within the far away previous.

Show description

Quick preview of The Murder of Regilla: A Case of Domestic Violence in Antiquity PDF

Best Archaeology books

The Jaguar Mask

Set within the middle of the yankee jungle and that includes Declan Carberry, the not-so good-looking hero of Day of Wrath, this page-turner oozes pleasure, exotica and formulation One suspense. Archaeologist Leo is on a dig. yet this is often no traditional project. he is deep within the middle of the Mexican jungle uncovering one other centuries-old Mayan urban.

The Origin of Our Species

Chris Stringer's bestselling "The starting place of our Species" tackles the large questions within the ongoing debate concerning the beginnings of human existence on the earth. Do all people originate from Africa? How did we unfold around the globe? Are we break away Neanderthals, or perform a little folks even have their genes?

The Vikings: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

The Viking recognition is one in every of bloodthirsty seafaring warriors, many times plundering the British Isles and the North Atlantic in the course of the early heart a long time. but Vikings have been additionally investors, settlers, and farmers, with a posh inventive and linguistic tradition, whose enlargement abroad led them to go the Atlantic for the 1st time in eu heritage.

Gold and Gilt, Pots and Pins: Possessions and People in Medieval Britain (Medieval History and Archaeology)

During this hugely illustrated publication, David Hinton seems to be at what possessions intended to humans at each point of society in Britain within the center a while, from intricate gold jewelry to clay pots, and gives a desirable window into the society of the center a while. Gold and Gilt, Pots and Pins is set issues worn and utilized in Britain during the center a long time, from the good treasure hoards that mark the tip of the Roman Empire to the hot expressions of rules promoted by means of the Renaissance and Reformation.

Extra info for The Murder of Regilla: A Case of Domestic Violence in Antiquity

Show sample text content

Neverthe- 12 the homicide of regilla much less, the realm of the second one Sophistic used to be mostly male, and this can be reflected in so much scholarly writing approximately it. 29 No prior student has tried to deal at size with the second one Sophistic by way of girls. 30 a lot of this ebook is dedicated to a comparability among Greek and Roman inner most existence through the empire. back, it was once paintings on Plutarch that led me to Regilla. In his Parallel Lives, Plutarch units recognized Greek and Roman males beside each other, in pairs, and customarily has an epilogue evaluating the contributors of the pair with one another. In a few lives, as in these of Lycurgus and of Numa, Plutarch additionally compares the customs of assorted ethnic teams, for instance, Spartans and Romans. In his Moralia he compares Greeks and Romans in regards to many matters correct to my present research, together with baby rearing and marriage styles. even supposing a few of Plutarch’s moral writing is prescriptive, a lot reflects real habit and perform. 31 His uncomplicated framework is, after all, Greek; yet he makes an attempt to appreciate Roman customs—not continually effectively. He turns out extra conversant in the far away prior than with contemporary occasions, yet that makes his proof the entire extra proper for this examine, within which the prior is found in Athens. fairly precious are the passages in Plutarch that are as a lot a platform for discussing problems with gender and ethnicity as they're photographs of specific people. In his comparability of Greek endogamy with Roman exogamy, Plutarch increases the topic of spouse abuse. 32 This dire hazard had additionally been raised within the first Roman legislations code, the Twelve Tables, in rubrics discussing the implications for a husband who offered or killed his spouse. The existence and violent loss of life of Regilla illustrates how brutal that international was once, even for an upper-class girl who began existence in enviable conditions. bankruptcy 1 GIRLHOOD IN ROME whilst Regilla used to be born in Rome to a prosperous relations with the top social connections, there has been no cause to count on that she may reach something below nice happiness and fortune in lifestyles. She married a really wealthy husband who used to be an intimate of emperors. yet on the age of thirty-five, 8 months pregnant, she died from a kick to the womb. Her husband was once attempted for murder. Appia Annia Regilla Atilia Caucidia Tertulla was once born round a. d. one hundred twenty five. 1 This lengthy identify introduced the little girl’s position within the social order. no matter if we don't be aware of even more approximately an upperclass Roman lady than her identify, we will deduce a good volume approximately her from her relationships. 2 Regilla’s identify was once a priceless ownership in imperial Rome. She was once a member of a family members of senatorial and patrician prestige, with a variety of consuls and different excessive executive officials between her distant and up to date ancestors. three Like Julius Caesar and his imperial heirs, humans of this type traced their lineage again to Venus and Anchises, the fogeys of Aeneas, the mythical founding father of Rome. four It used to be trendy one of the higher type to say wonderful ancestors; a few putative lineages have been dependent purely on similarities in identify, yet a few claims of kinship have been legitimate.

Download PDF sample

Rated 4.51 of 5 – based on 49 votes