From Good Goddess to Vestal Virgins: Sex and Category in Roman Religion PDF
Preview From Good Goddess to Vestal Virgins: Sex and Category in Roman Religion
FROM GOOD GODDESS TO VESTAL VIRGINS This page intentionally left blank. FROM GOOD GODDESS TO VESTAL VIRGINS Sex and category in Roman religion Ariadne Staples London and New York First published 1998 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2004. Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 © 1998 Ariadne Staples All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data Staples, Ariadne From Good Goddess to Vestal Virgins: Sex and Category in Roman Religion/Ariadne Staples. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Women and religion—Rome. 2. Rome—Religion. 3. Women—Rome. 4. Rome—Social life and customs. I. Title BL815.W6S73 1998 292.07′082–dc21 98–7381 ISBN 0-203-43547-8 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-74371-7 (Adobe eReader Format) ISBN 0-415-13233-9 (Print Edition) To the memory of my father and to my mother with my love This page intentionally left blank. CONTENTS P reface ix I NTRODUCTION 1 Part I The cult of Bona Dea I NTRODUCTION TO CHAPTER 1 1 1 1 T HE CULT OF BONA DEA 1 3 Hercules and Cacus 1 7 Hercules and Bona Dea 2 4 The women’s goddess 3 0 ‘A rite so ancient…’ 3 2 Bona Dea and the mysteries of Mithras 3 6 Opertanea Sacra 4 0 Wine, milk and honey 4 4 Part II The cults of Ceres and Flora I NTRODUCTION TO CHAPTER 2 5 5 2 C ERES AND FLORA 5 7 Uneasy misogyny 5 9 Wife and prostitute in myth 6 2 Wife and prostitute in ritual 8 3 Part III Venus’ role in Roman religion I NTRODUCTION TO CHAPTER 3 9 7 viii FROM GOOD GODDESS TO VESTAL VIRGINS 3 V ENUS 9 9 Venus Verticordia 10 3 Venus Obsequens and Venus Erycina 11 3 Venus and Bona Dea 12 5 Part IV The Vestals and Rome I NTRODUCTION TO CHAPTER 4 12 9 4 T HE USES OF VIRGINITY: THE VESTALS AND ROME 13 1 The transvaluation of virginity 13 5 Virginity and the ritual representation of Roman integrity14 7 C ONCLUSION 15 7 N otes 16 3 B ibliography 19 5 I ndex 21 1 PREFACE This book is a revised version of my doctoral dissertation. I should like to begin by thanking the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust, whose generous grant made it all possible. Over the years many people have read various versions of differ- ent chapters, and given generously of their time and expertise. This book is immeasurably better for their insights. It is impossible to thank them individually but I would like to record here my debt to them all. Some however have gone so far beyond the call of duty or even of friendship that I cannot let this opportunity pass by without mentioning them with special gratitude. John Crook steered me through the intricacies of Roman Law, a subject with which I had very little acquaintance when I first went to him for help. Under his guidance I realized that the law was both fascinating and fun. His enthusiasm for his subject proved so infec- tious that I decided to make law my life’s work. I should also like to thank him for his unwavering belief that this study should be pub- lished. It was that belief, and his insistence that I get on with the job no matter what, that kept me at the task of revision when the added burden of a Yale law school curriculum made it at times almost intolerable. I should also like to thank Mary Beard, who was a dedicated and conscientious dissertation supervisor. It was while I was being supervised by Keith Hopkins for a term that, encouraged by him, I started reading works of anthropology; this would have been a very different book if I hadn’t. Joyce Reynolds spent far more hours than she should have reading various versions of different chapters and her meticulous comments saved me from many an error. Richard Saller and John Scheid both took time during their brief visits to
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