The Women Who Ran Ancient Rome, Part 2: Servilia

Season 2, Episode 18. In ancient Rome, a woman was defined in relation to her family. Any fame she won was supposed to be confined to the private, domestic sphere. She wove such fine wool; she kept such a fine house; she was so very chaste and never made her father look bad! They weren’t welcome in the public sphere of governance. They couldn't vote or hold office. Theirs was a distinctly patriarchal world, true fame and public achievement was supposed to be reserved for men. But where there’s a will, there’s a way, and in a society that coveted public glory, ambitious women found their way into the history books too. In this episode, we dive headlong into the years around 44 BCE, when Julius Caesar was assassinated, and into the life of Servilia, who was SO much more than his mistress on the side. Find out what we think we know about this mysterious and tantalizing Roman matron.