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Durham E-Theses Imagery and ideology : aspects of female representation in Roman art, with special reference to Britain and Gaul. Rodgers, Rene Heather How to cite: Rodgers, Rene Heather (1999) Imagery and ideology : aspects of female representation in Roman art, with special reference to Britain and Gaul., Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1135/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 r_,., p K ýký--ý, IMAGERY AND IDEOLOGY: ASPECTS OF FEMALE REPRESENTATION IN ROMAN ART, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO BRITAIN AND GAUL (TWO VOLUMES) RENE HEATHER RODGERS VOLUME I The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without the written consent of the author an information derived from it should be acknowledged. 17 JAN2000 A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Durham, in the Department of Archaeology, 1998 Declaration: No part of this work has been submitted as part of a degreeby myself at this or any other University. Statement of Copyright: © The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without her prior written consentand information derived from it should be acknowledged. Rene Heather Rodgers Imagery and Ideology: Aspects of Female Representation in Roman Art, with special reference to Britain and Gaul Doctor of Philosophy University of Durham, 1998 The exploration of visual imagery can provide us with a route to a fuller understanding of the perceptions and constructions of gender in Roman society. Therefore, this thesis examines different facets of the various Roman ideologies of gender and the ways in which these ideologies may have influenced visual representations within Roman culture. Two ideological facets of the construction and representation of gender are analysed: the association of women with Otherness and Nature, and the representation of women within the context of personification and ideals. A variety of examples from a range of media are examined in order to address these seemingly paradoxical constructions of femaleness within Roman culture and imagery. The ideological perception of women as both `inside and outside' of Roman culture seems to have been influential on their textual and visual representation. Also, images of women, and their portrayal in metaphors of difference, were often utilised in the self-definition of the dominant group within Roman society: elite citizen men. Finally, the examination of Roman visual imagery, specifically female representations, contributes to our understanding of the creation and maintenance of ideologies of gender within Roman culture and their possible manifestation within provincial society. 11 "Women are supposedto behave demurely. They can be manipulating tyrants in private, so long as the good Roman myth of female subservienceis sustained. The trouble with Helena Justina was that she refused to compromise. She said what she wanted, and she did it too. That sort of perversebehaviour makes it extremely difficult for a man who has been brought up expecting deceit and inconsistencyto be sure where he stands." (Davis, 1992,50) TABLE OF CONTENTS Volume I 1 Declaration and copyright statement Abstract 11 Frontispiece 111 iv Table of contents Acknowledgements vi' Chapter 1: Gender and Art: A Theoretical Framework I 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 The concept of gender in archaeology 2 1.3 Past archaeological researchand its `blind spot': 4 the neglect of a critical analysis of gender in society 1.4 Feminist criticism and classical archaeology 8 1.5 From critique to new theoretical frameworks 14 1.6 "Alice through the looking glass": moving beyond the 19 notion of art as a straightforward reflection of society 1.7 Imagery and ideology: framework for an analysis of 24 female representationsin Roman art Chapter 2: Women in Roman Society: Aspects of Political, Legal 27 and Social Life 2.1 Introduction 27 2.2 The nature of our evidence 27 2.3 Political and legal life 31 2.4 Female cultural and social life: aspectsof education 41 and religion 2.5 The question of class and status: women in the social 48 hierarchy 2.6 Perceptionsof women 51 2.7 Conclusion 55 Chapter 3: The Female as Other 56 3.1 Introduction 56 3.2 The concept of Othernesswithin contemporary 56 theoretical debate 3.3 The concept of the Other in Greco-Roman ideologies 59 3.4 Roman imagery and the representation of the Other 72 3.5 Conclusions 88 iv Chapter 4: Female Imagery and the Nature: Culture Dichotomy 92 4.1 Introduction 92 4.2 Anthropological and social theory on Nature: Culture 92 4.3 The Nature-Culture dichotomy in the Greco-Roman 97 World 4.4 Women and nature in Roman literature and myth 104 4.5 Nature and Culture in Roman visual imagery 107 4.6 Conclusions 133 Chapter 5: Personification and the Female Form 136 5.1 Introduction 136 5.2 Personification and allegory 136 5.3 Personification in Greco-Roman culture 138 5.4 Personification and the female form 144 5.5 The paradox of female personification 148 5.6 Conclusions 161 Chapter 6: Female Imagery and the Representation of Ideals 164 6.1 Introduction 164 6.2 The expression of ideals in Roman imagery 165 6.3 The distortion between ideal and practice 176 6.4 Questioning the material: the nuancesof female life 180 6.5 Conclusions 193 Chapter 7: Conclusions 196 7.1 Introduction 196 7.2 Inside and outside of Roman society: the representation of 196 women 7.3 Self-definition and difference 198 7.4 Gender ideologies and representationwithin provincial 199 society 7.5 Ideas for further work 201 7.6 Conclusion 202 Abbreviations 203 Bibliography 205 V Volume II Appendices Al Parametersof appendices Al Appendix 1: The imageof Medusain Britain and Gaul A3 Appendix 2: The imageof the Seasonsin Britain and Gaul A5 Appendix 3: The image of Orpheus in Britain and Gaul A9 Appendix 4: The image of the Winds in Roman Britain AlO Appendix 5: Examples from text (Volume I) All Maps of sites in text A29 Britain A30 Gaul and Germany A32 Roman Empire A34 Plates A36 vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ,. There are severalpeople whom I would like to thank for their assistanceduring the production of this thesis. My supervisor, Martin Millett, has given me both support and encouragementthroughout the past four years. His guidancehas been an important factor in the successof my research. The interest shown in this topic by Sarah Scott has helped me to developmy ideas and her encouragementhas been instrumental to my persistencein the study of women and Roman art. At the beginning of my researchI wrote to severalpeople and their advice and suggestionshelped me to developmy topic. These include Lin Foxhall, Natalie Kampen, Gillian Clark, Henrietta Moore, Janet Huskinson, Martin Henig, Barbara Bender, Roberta Gilchrist, Glenys Davies, Roger White, and Francis Grew. Emma Stafford, SuzanneSpencer- Wood, Lynn Meskell, Margarita Diaz-Andreu and C. E. Schultze have all read parts of my thesis or discussedthe subject with me. Their commentsand suggestionshave been influential on my arguments. I would also like to thank Jocelyn Nelis-Clermont and D. S. Levene for their advice on epigraphy and the Latin language. My correspondenceand discussionswith Pat Witts on Romano-British mosaics have been extremely useful. Tom Blagg and Graham Webster gave me accessto their unpublished forthcoming CSIR data-baseswhich was very helpful in the production of my own data-base. Yvonne Beadnell and Simon Jameshave also given me a great deal of advice on illustrations and other aspectsof my research. I would also like to acknowledgethe suggestionsand referencesthat were given to me through my discussionson the Anahita e-mail list. Thanks are also due to the postgraduatecommunity at Durham. John Pearceand JeremyTaylor have given me infinite advice concerning my research. Chris Constable helped me with the computer problems that seemednever-ending. The production of my illustrations would have been overwhelming without the help of Lisa Hodgetts. Louise Revell, however, bore the heaviestburden and proofread my entire thesis - an invaluable contribution! Most of all, I would like to thank all the postgrads and my friends for their support, encouragement and their creation of the lighthearted atmospherethat made the job easier. Finally, I would like to thank my parents, Joyce and Robert, and my family for all they have done for me throughout these years and for the loving support that has helped me get this far. And to my husband,Nic Holland - his commitment, love and encouragementhave madethis all possible. Therefore, this work is dedicatedto him and my family. Vii CHAPTER 1 ýý GENDER AND ART: A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 1.1 INTRODUCTION Recent publications by feminist scholars (Conkey and Spector, 1984; Dobres, 1988; Conkey, 1991; Conkey and Gero, 1991; Conkey and Williams, 1991; Walde and Willows, 1991; Claassen, 1992a; Spencer-Wood, 1992; Conkey, 1993; Gilchrist, 1993; Moore and Scott, 1997) underline the need for gender studies in archaeological research. A critical analysis of gender and its significance in ancient societies is especially necessary in classical archaeology.

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