Man and Woman through the Eyes of Livy in The History of Rome': Virtue and Chastity

In The History of Rome, human nature is explored through the eyes of Livy. He describes the Romans as being prideful of traits such as prudence and frugality. One of the main issues in The History of Rome is the distinction between being a virtuous man and woman. Virtue guides men and women towards morality. Similar to the social norms and expectations we have today, in Ancient Rome, being virtuous was expected of you. Livy argues that men are virtuous by being involved with the government/politics and showing courage. In contrast, women are virtuous by saving their chastity and preserving their freedom. The distinction between being a virtuous man and woman in Ancient Rome is important, because it illustrates how each gender contributed to Roman society.

Livy mentions the importance of an efficient government body in the beginning of Book 1. He discusses how “Romulus summoned his men to an assembly and gave them laws, since there was no other way than by law that they could be a unified community” to emphasize that Rome would not have grown to power without some form of order. Furthermore, it was the men’s responsibility to ensure that these laws were enforced and honored since women were not involved in politics during this time period. This sentiment is reiterated when Numa Pompilius is chosen as king. At the beginning of his reign, “Numa prepared to give the new city that had been founded by force of arms a new foundation in justice, law, and proper observances”. Once again, it is a man who organizes and implements a legal system in Rome to maintain harmony amongst its citizens. Additionally, Numa creates the Temple of Janus and establishes priesthoods to appeal to his subjects. His devotion towards worshipping the gods is praised; furthermore, Livy recognizes Numa as the model citizen that the people of Rome should aspire to be like. He shows piety and acts within the confines of the law.

Courage is another Roman virtue that is highly valued in men in The History of Rome. This trait is most evident in Horatius Cocles when he defends the Tiber bridge against enemy forces. With the odds stacked against him and his comrades, Livy cites that “[Horatius] brandished his weapons ready to fight hand to hand, thereby stunning the enemy with amazement at his audacity”. Livy admires Horatius’ valiant effort, because it was Horatius and his two comrades that stood their ground even when their other allies were “fleeing and shirking [from] the fight”. Horatius could have been a coward and fled from the scene; however, his desire to fulfill his duty for his country allows him to shift the momentum in this battle. Livy even attacks his comrades that fled the fight, stating that some only come back to help because they “felt a sense of shame”. Furthermore, after defending the bridge successfully, he is honored by the citizens of Rome. Livy states that “each individual contributed something from his private store, depriving himself of sustenance”, implying that rewarding Horatius’ valor was more important to the citizens of Rome then their own nourishment. This validates Livy’s argument that courage was a virtue held in high regard in the Roman men.

Chastity was a highly valued trait in women in Ancient Rome. When Numa establishes the priesthoods in Rome, he makes sure to select virgins for the service of Vesta, because of how respected they were in the Roman community. By being chaste, the women are maintaining the integrity of their body and are sexually pure. This is important because the women are not engaging in pre-marital sex and are free of sexual sin. Furthermore, this is the very reason that chastity is associated with a woman’s freedom during this time period. After Sextus Tarquinius rapes Lucretia, we are able to see the extent to which a woman values her own purity and freedom. Lucretia states “What can be well when a woman has lost her honor? The marks of another man are in your bed. But only my body has been violated… Though I absolve myself of wrongdoing, I do not exempt myself from punishment. Nor henceforth shall any unchaste woman continue to live by citing the precedent of Lucretia”. For Lucretia, losing her honor is equivalent to losing her freedom. She was raped, and there was nothing she could do about it; additionally, her body is no longer pure and carries the baggage associated with this heinous crime. Livy aims to portray Lucretia as a martyr to illustrate the lengths she will go to save the last remnants of herself. That is, to take her own life. Furthermore, Lucretia states that any unchaste woman who uses her rape as a precedent for their own situation should take their life. Unlike Lucretia, Verginia’s chastity and freedom is saved because of her dad. Verginius ends up taking her life to save her from any future threats that could compromise her purity. Here, we see how much the opposite gender (in this case, her dad) values a woman’s chastity. Verginius realizes that there will always be a threat to his daughter’s purity after Appius Claudius tries to take Verginia’s womanhood. Rather than allowing his daughter to live with the potential risk of her purity being stripped from her, he takes her life so that she would have died as a free, chaste woman.

Livy’s position on the virtues of men and women in Ancient Rome has its strengths and weaknesses. Firstly, Livy does a very good job in making it easier for the reader of his text to understand the events that transpired before his time. He has a clear position on how Rome can remain a great country: through the conception of an able government body. This can only be accomplished if the men of Rome work together to create a legal system that can unite all of its citizens. He also defines the women’s expectations in this book very well, using the stories of the Sabine women, Lucretia, and Verginia to illustrate how much they valued their chastity. One of Livy’s weaknesses in this book is that the stories he tells may not have been completely accurate. Since the history of Rome was likely to be orally transmitted from one generation to another, it is possible that Livy, a Roman, framed his argument on what it means to be a virtuous man and women in society to satisfy how he believes men and women should act during his time.

While the virtues expected of men and women in Ancient Rome are no longer mutually exclusive to each gender today, they are still important because they show how gender roles have changed over time. For instance, women’s rights have significantly increased over the past 100 years. In that time, women have gained the right to vote, and have even held very influential government positions. Hillary Clinton served as the Secretary of State under the Obama administration for four years, and Nancy Pelosi is the current speaker of the House of Representatives. Women in Ancient Rome would have never been allowed to be part of the government body. Furthermore, this thought probably never even crossed their minds, because they were expected to be faithful to their husbands and raise a family. Now, women can also serve in the military. There are women in each branch of the military across the world illustrating how impartial we are towards those who want to serve. In The History of Rome, women’s chastity was heavily emphasized; however today, we see many men who are also remaining sexually pure and are saving themselves for marriage. Whether it has to do with religious beliefs or personal choice, men are engaging in abstinence from sexual relations.

Livy emphasizes Roman virtues throughout The History of Rome giving his readers an account of what was expected from each member in their community. He argues that men are virtuous through their contribution in war and government, while women are virtuous by preserving their chastity and freedom.