This document summarizes the stories of three ancient Roman women - Lucretia, Cloelia, and Verginia - who were considered heroines for challenging social norms and influencing political change. Lucretia committed suicide after being raped to uphold her honor, which sparked the overthrow of the Roman kings. Cloelia boldly escaped captivity and returned to prevent war. Verginia was murdered by her father to protect her freedom from a corrupt leader, contributing to the re-establishment of the Roman Republic. These women served as inspirations for generations of Romans through their courageous defiance of the restrictive roles typically imposed on women.
Cleopatra And The Power of Seduction The Egyptian.docxmccormicknadine86
Cleopatra And The Power of Seduction
The Egyptian pharaoh known as Cleopatra has been one of the most misunderstood characters throughout history. Many of the records to this date was written by her enemies who portrayed her as a conniving seducing manipulator. To fully understand Cleopatra we must look at her life in great detail and understand how she used many of her personal relationships to bring peace and prosperity to the country that she ruled. Many see her as a vicious enemy while others see her as a one of the greatest and courageous rulers of Egyptian history, who was the last of the Ptolemaic empire, which lasted for roughly 300 years.
During the time of Cleopatra Egypt was at an unstable with several rulers fighting for the throne. At a young age Cleopatra's father Ptolemy the 12th Auletes, was exiled from Egypt and her older sister seized power. When Ptolemy returned from exile with the help of Rome he had the teenaged Cleopatra appointed as a co ruler. After his death he left Cleopatra to rule alongside her younger ten year old brother also known as Ptolemy.
As customary with Egyptian culture at the time women co rulers were supportive to the male ruler but Cleopatra had plans of her own. Soon after Cleopatra became ruler she deleted her brother from Egyptians official records and coinage. However a coup in 48bc drove Cleopatra into exile in Syria. The dispute between Ptolemy and Cleopatra plunged Egypt into another civil war.
During the chaos of the civil war Julius Caesar took the opportunity to seize Alexandria stating that he would mediate between the two parties, Cleopatra and her brother Ptolemy.This action subjecting Egypt to the will of Rome. This action gave Cleopatra an opportunity since Julius Caesar was a known womanizer. She decide to take a risky move to regain control of her throne. Being a beautiful intelligent young girl she arranged a way to sneak into Caesar’s bedchamber and convince him to support her claim.
Cleopatra's risky planned worked out and Caesar convinced Ptolemy to share power with her. The supporters of Ptolemy were not pleased; his royal army marched to Alexandria to restore his sole rule to the throne. Unfortunately for Ptolemy he drowned while his army fought Caesar's army and the royal army was defeated.
After defeating the army of Ptolemy Caesar restored Cleopatra to her throne and allowed her to rule once again. Even though the first two years of her control in power were racked with many eternal issues she was able to prove herself a capable and powerful leader. Cleopatra was able to mend the various political groups across the kingdom.
During her rule Cleopatra was able to calm the tensions Egypt was having by making various alliances with political factions in nearby Syria while maintaining her father's pro Roman policies. The population of Egypt was supportive of Cleopatra she made great efforts in attempt to gain the public's support, she was the first Ptolemaic rule ...
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
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
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