Hortensia was the daughter of Quintus Hortensius Hortalus, 114 BC to 56 BC. Hortensius was regarded by many as the best legal advocate and orator of his day, rivaled only by the great Marcus Tullius Cicero. Hortensia, growing up in her father’s household was well educated and had studied Greek and Roman history, philosophy and […]
Notable Woman of the Roman Republic: Fulvia Flacca Bambula
July 30, 2012 By 9 Comments
In the days of the late Roman republic, it wasn’t wise for a woman to involve herself in politics. (It probably wasn’t wise for a man to involve himself in politics either, but that’s another matter.) Fulvia Flacca Bambula was married to three politically prominent Romans at successive times and she was wielded more […]
Notable Women of the Roman Republic: Sempronia the Sister of the Gracchi
July 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment
In our last blog in our series Notable Women of the Roman Republic we wrote about Cornelia, the mother of the Gracchi. Cornelia was the daughter of the great Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus who conquered Carthage at the end of the second Punic war. She was married to Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus and had twelve children […]
Notable Women of the Roman Republic: Cornelia the Mother of the Gracchi
July 10, 2012 By 8 Comments
In my last blog about notable women of the Roman Republic, I wrote about Aemilia Paulla, the daughter of Aemilius Paullus the Roman consul slain at Cannae, and wife of Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, the conqueror of Carthage in the second Punic war. In this blog I will write about her younger daughter, Cornelia […]
Book Review: The Jewel of Medina
July 7, 2012 By 1 Comment
Sherry Jones’ novel The Jewel of Medina tells the story of the prophet Mohammad and his child bride A’isha. A’isha was the daughter of Abu Bakr, an early follower of the prophet. He offered the forty-nine year old widower Mohammad his six year old daughter to strengthen their bond of friendship and devotion. The wedding ceremony […]
Notable Women of The Roman Republic-Aemilia Paulla
July 2, 2012 By 4 Comments
Notable Women of the Roman Republic: Aemilia Paulla Lucius Aemilius Paullus was one of the two Roman Consuls in 216 B.C. when the disastrous battle of Cannae took place. Killed in the battle, he left a widow and at least two young children. His son, Lucius Aemilius Paullus was born around 228 B.C., […]
The Death of Verginia
June 25, 2012 By Leave a Comment
The Death of Verginia This is the fourth in a series of stories about notable women of the Romen Republic. Verginia is more of a tragic victim in this story than a heroine, but her story sharply illustrates the conflicts between the classes in the early days of the Roman Republic, and the […]
Notable Women of the Roman Republic: Veturia the Mother of Coriolanus
June 19, 2012 By 2 Comments
This is the third in a series of blogs about notable women of the Roman republic. Veturia, sometimes also known as Volumnia, was the mother of Gaius Marcius Coriolanus. She single-handedly saved Rome from imminent destruction. Quotations are from Plutarch’s Life of Gaius Marcius Coriolanus. Veturia, a patrician woman, was widowed soon […]
Women of the Roman Republic: Cloelia
June 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment
This is the second in a series of blogs that will tell the stories of women who were notable in the history of the Roman Republic. In our first blog we saw that the expulsion of the last king of Rome, Tarquinius Supurbus, or Tarquin the Proud, was precipitated by the violation of the virtuous […]
Book Review: In Vain by Barbara Geisler
June 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Barbara Geisler’s book In Vain just won the BAIPA (Bay Area Independent Publisher’s Association) award for best Historical Fiction. This is Barbara’s third book in her Averillian series about Sister Averilla at the Shaftsbury monastery 12th Century England. The other two books are Other Gods and Graven Images. In Vain is a prequel to the […]
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