Insights into Gender Norms of Early Rome: fragments of Accius and Naevius

 GENDER ROLES IN EARLY ROME:

Never was a girlfriend (amica) more faithful to her lover (amanti)

Than a boyfriend (amico) is to his [lover] (amanti);

Nor is any woman ever known for being pleasant.

Numquam quisquam amico amanti amica nimis fiet fidelis,

Nec nimis erit morigera et nota quisquam.

--Naevius fr. 88-89

 

Unfortunately, gender-based slurs were just as common as they are today: 

You teenagers have a womanly spirit,

But this girl’s got the spirit of a man. [meant as an insult]

Vos enim iuvenes animum geritis muliebrem,

Virgo viri.

--Accius fr. 33-34

 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.

Accius was a freeborn child of a freedman parent; he was born in Umbria (modern Italy) but later moved to Rome. He wrote several tragedies based on Greek myths, but these are no longer extant; only fragments remain of his writings.