THE LANGUAGE OF ROMAN ADULTERY A thesis submitted to The University of Manchester for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Humanities 2012 JESSICA E. DIXON SCHOOL OF ARTS, LANGUAGES AND CULTURES Contents CONTENTS ................................................................................................................................................... 2 LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................................................... 4 ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................................... 5 DECLARATION ............................................................................................................................................. 6 COPYRIGHT STATEMENT ............................................................................................................................. 7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................................... 8 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION AND DEFINITIONS ..................................................................................... 9 1.1) LAW AND SOCIETY ........................................................................................................................................ 9 1.2) MORAL REFORM ....................................................................................................................................... 10 1.3) THE LANGUAGE OF ADULTERY ...................................................................................................................... 12 1.4) LEGAL SOURCES ......................................................................................................................................... 15 1.5) DEFINITIONS OF ADULTERIUM AND STUPRUM .................................................................................................. 17 CHAPTER TWO: ROMAN ADULTERY .......................................................................................................... 27 2.1) ADULTERY IN THE REPUBLIC ......................................................................................................................... 27 Republican Morality ................................................................................................................................ 27 Women .................................................................................................................................................... 29 The Prosecution of Adultery .................................................................................................................... 32 Lex Scantinia ............................................................................................................................................ 42 2.2) THE PROVISIONS AND PENALTIES OF THE LEX IULIA ........................................................................................... 48 Accusations .............................................................................................................................................. 48 Other Charges .......................................................................................................................................... 55 Torture of Slaves ...................................................................................................................................... 58 Prosecution .............................................................................................................................................. 60 Punishment .............................................................................................................................................. 62 Punishment in Literature ......................................................................................................................... 66 Punishment of the Adulteress .................................................................................................................. 71 Scope ....................................................................................................................................................... 77 Purpose .................................................................................................................................................... 78 2.3) AFTER THE LEX IULIA ................................................................................................................................... 83 2.4) CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................................................................................... 87 CHAPTER THREE: ADULTERIUM AND STUPRUM IN LATIN PROSE .............................................................. 89 3.1) THE AUTHORS ........................................................................................................................................... 89 3.2) THE TERMS ............................................................................................................................................... 95 3.3) STATUS .................................................................................................................................................... 98 Cicero ..................................................................................................................................................... 101 Sallust .................................................................................................................................................... 104 Livy ......................................................................................................................................................... 105 Valerius Maximus .................................................................................................................................. 106 Tacitus ................................................................................................................................................... 107 2 Suetonius ............................................................................................................................................... 109 3.4) ASSOCIATIONS ......................................................................................................................................... 110 Cicero ..................................................................................................................................................... 110 Sallust .................................................................................................................................................... 116 Livy ......................................................................................................................................................... 118 Valerius Maximus .................................................................................................................................. 120 Tacitus ................................................................................................................................................... 120 Suetonius ............................................................................................................................................... 124 3.5) CONCLUSIONS ......................................................................................................................................... 125 CHAPTER FOUR: ADULTERIUM AND STUPRUM IN LATIN VERSE .............................................................. 127 4.1) THE AUTHORS ......................................................................................................................................... 128 4.2) THE TERMS ............................................................................................................................................. 134 4.3) STATUS .................................................................................................................................................. 140 Plautus ................................................................................................................................................... 142 Terence .................................................................................................................................................. 143 Catullus .................................................................................................................................................. 144 Horace ................................................................................................................................................... 145 Propertius .............................................................................................................................................. 146 Ovid ....................................................................................................................................................... 149 Martial ................................................................................................................................................... 150 Juvenal ................................................................................................................................................... 151 4.4) ASSOCIATIONS 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