Could women in Ancient Rome hold any power?

Freeborn Roman women were not able to vote, hold political office or serve in the military, and only rarely owned land or businesses in their own right. 

Largely excluded from education, the women of Ancient Rome were forever subject to their fathers and husbands, to the point of having no legal rights over their own children. 

That’s not to say that they couldn’t become successful in business and politics, such as Eumachia of Pompeii, who was an extremely wealthy business magnate (巨头). 

Aside from the wives and mothers of Roman emperors, who often held a significant amount of political power, the only official high-ranking job open to women was religious. 

The Vestal Virgins (who kept the sacred fire of Rome burning) were of particularly high status. As priestesses of Vesta - the goddess of the hearth, home and family - the six women would serve for 30 years and held significant power, including independence from their fathers’ rule and they could also manage their own property. 

The odds, however, were stacked against Roman women. When Rome encountered, societies where women held positions of power, or were treated as being equal to men, they were viewed as being profoundly “barbarian (野蛮人)”.

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Eumachia: was the public priestess (女祭司) of in Pompeii during the middle of the 1st century AD as well as the matron (女总管) of the Concordia Augustus. She was reported to have obtained her great waltz in her own right as a very successful matron. Of inconsequential origin, she sought a higher social status by marring into one of the older families of Pompeii. Eumachia was also known as the matron of the fullers (漂洗工), an economically significant guild (行会) in Pompeii which consisted of dyers and clothing-makers. Eumachia’s importance in Roman history stems from how she is seen as a good example of how a Roman woman of non-imperial descent can become involved in public affairs.

Vestal Virgin: in ancient Rome, the vestals or vestal virgins were priestesses of Vesta, goddess of the hearth. The College of the Vestals and its well-being was regarded as fundamental to the continuance and security of Rome. They cultivated the sacred fire that was not allowed to go out. The Vestals were freed of the usual social obligations to marry and bear children, and took a vow of chastity in order to devote the themselves to the study and correct observance of state rituals that were off.limits to the male colleges of priests.

The vestals were committed to the priestess hood before puberty (when 6-10 years old) and sworn to celibacy for a period of 30 years. 维斯塔贞女（ Vestales Virgins ）是侍奉圣火维斯塔女神（ Vesta ）的女祭司，因奉圣职的 30 年内须守贞而得名。

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