Experience ancient Rome in a new way through the voices of Eucharis, a 14 year old freedwoman who worked as an entertainer, and women in Pompeii, such as Caprasia, who were decidedly not silent, advocating for the political candidates of their choice.

Remembering Eucharis, Accomplished Entertainer

“Eucharis, Freedwoman of Licinia,
well educated, a virgin learned in all the arts who lived for 14 years.
Hail! You whose eye strays to look upon this house of death 
slow your step and read through this inscription,
which the love of my father gave to his daughter
in the place where the remains of her body are to be found.
Here, while my youth was flourishing with accomplishments
and with maturing years embarked on a course of fame,
 my sad hour of destiny was hastening forward
and refused me an additional breath of life.
Schooled, accomplished almost by the touch of the Muses,
I who just recently embellished the games of the nobles in choral performance
was also first to appear before the people on the stage for Greek drama.
See how now the hostile Fates have deposited
the ashes of my body in this tomb, with a dirge.
Zeal for my patron, attentiveness, love, fame, honour –
they are silent in my charred body and are, with my death, mute.
As his daughter I left to my father tears to shed
and although born later, I anticipated the day of his death.
Twice seven birthdays are preserved with me here in the dark,
held fast in the everlasting house of the Infernal God.
I ask that as you depart you invoke the earth to rest lightly over me.
(CIL Is.214 – ILLRP 2.803)

Eucharis lived and died in the mid-first century BCE, at the time of Sulla or Caesar. Her epitaph, a type of "speaking inscription" (where the inscription speaks directly to the viewer) brings this young woman to life for us. Hers was a short life, but one with considerable accomplishments; she died just as a young woman in ancient Rome was transitioning from girlhood to womanhood.

The inscription tells us that Eucharis was a freedwoman; this means that she had been a slave and was freed, or manumitted. In ancient Rome, slavery was not based on race, as it was in the American South. Rather, individuals could move from a state of freedom to enslavement based on a variety of circumstances, such as being taken captive in battle. The children of slaves also became slaves themselves. The manumission of slaves was not unusual, although it certainly did not happen to all those who were enslaved. Many epitaphs and inscriptions, such as this one, tout the freed status of their honorees. Once an individual was freed, they maintained a relationship with their former enslaver, here referred to as Eucharis's patron.

Zeal for my patron, attentiveness, love, fame, honour - they are silent in my charred body and are, with my death, mute.

The epitaph here takes pains to mention Eucharis's devotion, her "zeal" for her former enslaver, indicating the relationship that continued to exist between them, certainly one of an unequal power dynamic. The inscription gives us other tantalizing details about Eucharis's life - she was an entertainer (and a good one, if she was almost "touched by the muses"!), performed in Greek dramas, and entertained elites. We also see a particular emphasis on Eucharis's relationship as a daughter; it was her father who set up this inscription.

Ultimately, the inscription leaves us with many questions - who was Eucharis's father? What was his relationship with her enslaver? Was he himself a freedman? The inscription is lengthy, so he must have had considerable financial resources to dedicate it - which was not outside the realm of possibility for a slave. Why was Eucharis freed? What was her relationship with her father and her enslaver like? And perhaps, most of all, is this how she would have wanted us to remember her, or how those who she left behind curated her memory?

Women and Politics in Pompeii

From Eucharis's epitaph, we move to the graffiti of Pompeii, which was famously destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE. We rarely think of women in the ancient world as business owners and workers, or as being concerned with politics. Rather, because they were excluded from participation and voting, it is often assumed that they had no concern with politics at all. In fact, ancient Roman sources, including inscriptions such as these, indicate that women did advocate on their own behalf and involved themselves in political affairs. Women could also own property, and although they nominally needed a male guardian to do certain types of business, by 79 CE there were ways for women to avoid this requirement and move outside of a guardian's control.

"Asellina's girls, as well as Zmyrina, ask that C. Lollius Fuscus become duumvir for roadways and the maintenance of public and religious buildings."

"Birius with Biria ask you to elect Helvius Sabinus aedile, a good man, worthy of public office. Onomastus, vote for him eagerly."

"Staia and Petronia ask you to elect M. Casellius and L. Albucius aediles. May there always be such citizens in the colony."

"Statis asks you to elect Herennius and Suettius aediles."

"Caprasia with Nymphius asks you to elect A. Vettius Firmus aedile. He is worthy. Together with the neighbors they beg you to vote for him."

In this collection of graffiti, we see a number of women who have chosen to advocate for particular candidates for office. What are these offices?

Aedile - Aediles in ancient Rome were officials who were responsible for public works and the maintenance of public buildings, public games, and the supply of grain to the city. 

Duumvir - The Duumviri were any pair of magistrates in ancient Rome (the Latin word literally means "two men"). Here we might infer that C. Lollius Fuscus is also running for the office of aedile, as that would entail the maintenance of roadways and public and religious buildings.

We might note two very interesting things here.

First, these women (some of them, such as Asellina, likely owners of their own businesses) felt strongly enough about politics to advocate on behalf of a particular candidate. These women were not, as is often assumed, isolated and confined to their houses.

Second, the fact that they are essentially creating public advertisements suggests that there were some men (because, of course, it was the men who would do the voting!) who would find their words and support for a particular candidate compelling.

These inscriptions set the typical assumptions that are commonly made about women in ancient Rome and in the ancient world more generally on their head and invite us to consider more seriously the intersectional identities of these women and how they impacted their lived realities.

Artifacts on Display:

Italian Red-Figure Amphora

Bronze Tweezers

Corinthian Pyxis

Italian Black Gloss Olpe

Black Gloss Askos

Athenian Black Gloss Skyphos, c. 550-500 BCE

Miniature Amphora

Bronze Key

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