Chapter 6 Bringing Women into the Agonistic Sphere
Sport, Women and Festivals in the Greek World under Rome
In: The Public Lives of Ancient Women (500 BCE-650 CE)Search for other papers by Onno M. van Nijf in
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Abstract
This article is intended as a tribute to Emily Hemelrijk, who has done much to bring Roman women out of the domestic and into the public sphere. Combining Emily’s interest in women’s history with my own interest in sport and festivals, I discuss here the role that women played in the world of ancient sport and festivals. I present the evidence for the participation of women in athletic events to show that in the early Roman period women were entering the agonistic sphere in larger numbers than before. The visibility that this afforded was, however, not a sign of emancipation from the domestic sphere, but rather connected to social and political changes of the early imperial period firmly anchored in the traditional setting of family prestige.