The Mirror of Venus

Overview

The first general book to present and interpret the images of women in Roman art

Though images of women were ubiquitous in the Roman world, these were seldom intended to be taken simply at face value. The importance of marriage, motherhood and political stability was often conveyed to the Roman people through carefully constructed representations of the women of the ruling house. Mythological representations were used to present moral and political lessons to the women of Rome. Roman society was, on most levels, male dominated and women’s roles were sometimes subordinate to political and cultural needs and imperatives.Images of mortal women – empresses and other female members of the imperial family, elite women from around the empire and working women from Rome, Ostia, Pompeii and elsewhere – are analysed alongside images of goddesses and personifications and of complex mythological figures such as Amazons. This is the first general book to present a coherent, broad analysis of the numerous images of women in Roman art and to interpret their meaning and significance, all set against the broader geographical, chronological, political, religious and cultural context of the world of the Roman republic and empire and of Late Antiquity.

Author Biography

Dr Iain Ferris is a professional archaeologist of thirty-seven years’ standing, and has taught at Birmingham and Manchester Universities. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London and has published widely. His research interests include Roman art and material culture and Romano-British archaeology and artefacts. He has directed major archaeological research excavations in northern and midland England and has served as a member of the Archaeology Committee of the Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies.He lives in Pembrey, Carmarthenshire, Wales.