The Role of Mothers in Old Age

The elderly are seen to be nearer death, and they're sort of on the threshold between the natural world and the supernatural. As one author has put it, they're closer to the gods, in a way. Theyd have a particular role in terms of religion and terms of magic as well. The stereotypes that romans have of older women are absolutely vicious. You see this in poems by horace and ovid and marshall, we're old witches for example. It's evil, nasty, nasty stuff, he said. Amazing.