1. Heroines of
Ancient Rome
Jackie Giammattteo

2. Timeline
753 B.C – 509 B.C 27 A.D -
Founding – Roman Octavian
of Rome Republic (Augustu
by s) takes
Romulus is power as
and establish the first
Remus ed emperor
Roman empire continues until its fall in 476
A.D

3. Women’s Role in Ancient
Rome
Women had no legal freedom in Ancient
Rome
A Roman women was under the control of a
male figure her entire life
Women could not hold the position of
general, consul, or senator
Could not vote or own any land

4. Some Left Marks on
History
With their restricted roles in public life, it was
hard for women to make an impact on
society…But some did
Lucretia, Cloelia, and Verginia
These women were all considered heroines of
the early Roman Republic
Their actions influenced and inspired women for
generations to come

5. Lucreti
a
Cloelia
Verginia

6. The Story of Lucretia
During the Reign of the tyrant kings ruling
Rome, several young military leaders met for a
dinner gathering
Each man began to boast about how great his
wife was
All the men decided to ride back to their homes
to secretly observe their wives to see who’s wife
was acting most virtuous

7. Lucretia
All were surprised to find their
wives preparing for lavish
dinner parties and spending
time with friends
The wife of Tarquinius
Conlatinus stood out, Lucretia
Lucretia was home spinning
wool with her maids
The men were all impressed by
Lucretia’s innocence and honor
and awarded Tarquinius
Conlatinus as winner.

8. Trouble
Among the group of men was the son of the
tyrant king at the time (Lucius Tarquinius
Superbus ), Sextus Tarquinius
Sextus was overcome with jealousy, desire, and
ambition to challenge Lucretia’s purity
A few nights later Sextus entered the house of
Lucretia to rape her

9. Sextus told Lucretia if
she were to scream
for help, he would kill
both her and a
slave, and put them
both in her bed
making it look as if
she had committed
adultery
Lucretia relented and
Sextus raped her

10. Dishonor
After Sextus left Lucretia, with shame, called to
see her husband and father and tearfully
explained what happened
She explained that her body was now soiled
Choosing death over dishonor, Lucretia plunged
a knife into her heart

11. “No woman shall use
Lucretia as her example in
dishonor.”

12. March to Rome
Lucretia’s husband and father were outraged
They declared that the king and his family had
committed far too many crimes and the
monarchy had to end
They began to march to Rome where they were
joined by others who were horrified by Lucretia’s
rape and death
Many had also suffered under the king for long
enough and joined the cause

13. Expel of the Kings
The public succeeded in overthrowing the king
and his family
This ended the reign of kings in Rome and began
the Republic

14. The Roman Republic
The republic was established in 509 B.C
Rome was still very small and was completely
surrounded by enemies
It wasn’t long until Rome was attacked and put
under siege by the Etruscan king of
Clusium, Lars Porsena.
After almost being assassinated by a Roman, in
fear that it might happen again, Porsena made a
peace proposal to the Romans

15. The Proposal
The Proposal stated that
he would give Janiculum
back to the Romans, if
they would give the
Etruscans some young
Roman hostages

16. Cloelia
Rome agreed to this and sent over some
hostages
Among the hostages was a teenage girl named
Cloeli

17. The Escape
One night Cloelia escaped
Unseen by the guards, she led several other girls
out as well
She led them across the Tiber river while being
showered with Javelins and arrows by the
realizing guards
She managed to get every single girl home
safely

18. Bravery
When the news reached the king that Cloelia had
escaped and taken other girls with her, he was
outraged
He demanded her back threatening to renew war
with the Romans
Cloelia, bravely agreed to return back to Clusium
if it meant keeping the peace in her homeland of
Rome
Upon return to the king, his anger soon turned
into admiration for the young girl’s courage and
let her return safely to Rome again

19. Hero
When Cloelia returned to Rome
she became an instant hero for
her courage and willingness to
risk her life for the sake of
keeping peace in Rome
She was rewarded with an
equestrian statue on the highest
point of the Sacred Way

20. The Decemvirate
Once the monarchy was overthrown, Rome was
ruled by two men called consuls and the senate
In 451 B.C a group of ten men, called the
Decemvirate, were appointed to draw up the
laws of the state that would clearly define the
rights of both plebeians and patricians.
Overtime the rule of the Decemvirate became
increasable violent

21. Verginia
One member to the Decemvirate was Appius
Claudius
Appius began to lust over a beautiful girl named
Verginia
Verginia, being engaged, rejected him the
several times he tried to seduce her
So Appius Claudius came up with a plan

22. The Plan
Appius was going to have one of his clients take
Verginia while she was on her way to school
The client would then take her to court claiming
that Verginia was actually his slave who was
stolen from him when she was a baby
Appius, being the Judge of Civil Disputes would
rule that the girl must be returned to her “former
owner” (essentially just given to Appius)

23. Verginius
Before Appius could rule that Verginia must go
back to the custody of her former owner, the
case was delayed so Verginia’s father, Verginius
could return from war and defend his daughter
He fled back to Rome to support his daughter’s
freedom gathering supporters on the way

24. Verginia’s
Murder
Once Verginia arrived to defend
his daughter, Appius immediately
silenced him and ruled custody
of Verginia to his client
Shocked, Verginius begged to
talk to his daughter alone
Before Appius could stop
him, Verginius stabbed his
daughter knowing it was the only
way to secure her freedom
Verginius was immediately
arrested, but his supporters
gathered to attack Appius
Claudius

25. Overthrow of the
Decemvirate and re-
establishment of the
Roman Republic
This act of corruption led to the overthrow of the
Decemvirate
They had already been abusing their power for
years and their power seemed to be getting to
the level of the kings which had been overthrown
many years before
Verginia’s death sparked the uprising which led
to the re-establishment of the Roman republic

26. Lasting Influence
In a nation dominated by
men, Lucretia, Cloelia, and Verginia all stood out
as Heroines
Lucretia sacrificed herself in order to uphold the
traditional values of Roman women, which
sparked an overthrowing of the tyrant kings
Cloelia’s courage protected the peace in Rome
during the republic
Verginia’s death kept the republic from turning
into a monarchy again

27. Inspiring Women for
Generations to come
The actions of these women influenced and
inspired other women for years
The way women were looked at was changed
because of these hero’s