Roman Women

Looking at the inscription, Petra remarked, “She’s identified as Quintus Creticus’s daughter and Crassus’s wife.”

“That isn’t surprising,” her mother replied. “In ancient Rome the naming of women was different from the nomenclature for men.  Women didn’t have any individual first names but the feminine forms of their fathers’ names.  Sometimes, numerical adjectives were used to distinguish sisters like Tertia, which means, ‘third’.  Eventually, Roman women came to have individual names and legitimate individual public identities.”

76 Words

The tomb of Caecilia Metella – Photo by Author, Lalupa, Wikimedia Commons

This was written for the Weekend Writing Prompt by Sammi Cox. For instructions, click Here.

Sources: Wikipedia; Uppsala University Publications