Insights on the Treatment of Women in Early Rome: A Fragment of Naevius

Name: Naevius Date:   3rd century BCE Region:   [modern Italy] Citation:  Fragment 12

 

Desubito famam tollunt si quam solam videre in via.

--Naevius fr. 12, quoted in Nonius

Suddenly, they raise hell if they see a woman alone on the street.

Naevius was an Italian poet who wrote comedies, tragedies, and satires during the 3^rd century BCE. His works were often considered salacious; he was imprisoned, freed, and later exiled because of his works. Although he wrote dozens of plays and a history of the First Punic War, these are no longer extant; his works only survive in fragments and quotes preserved by other authors.