Livy's The Early History of Ancient Rome

Livy's, The Early History of Rome, is populated with many issues concerning groups of people with different customs, geographic locations, religious beliefs, and other characteristics. In this essay, Livy's portrayal of Roman women is compared with his portrayal of women from other cultures. In particular, he compares Etruscan women and Sabine women with Roman women. Livy does not speak highly of the few Etruscan women he does discuss. A reason for this portrayal could lie …

…out. On the other hand, everything Etruscan women do (with the one exception of soothsaying) is viewed as either manipulative or evil. Conversely, Roman woman can do no wrong. Even when Roman women are at fault, as with Tarpeia, Livy finds a way to redirect the blame. Whether or not Livy is correct in his opinions about women is not the issue. What is important is that Livy has an indisputable favorite: the Roman woman.