Roman Wives, Roman Widows
Subtitle: The Appearance of New Women and the Pauline Communities
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
Published: November 1, 2003
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 244
ISBN-13: 9780802849717
Subjects: Biblical studies, criticism & exegesis; Books of the New Testament; European history: BCE to c 500 CE; World history; Women; History; Christianity; Religion - Church History; Religious aspects; History: World; Ancient Rome; History of doctrines; Biblical Criticism & Interpretation - New Testament; Christianity - History - General; Religion / Church History; Religion : Biblical Criticism & Interpretation - New Testament; Sex role; Biblical teaching; Women in Christianity; Ancient - Rome; Early church, ca. 30-600
First sentence: 'The potential for more fruitful contact between classical studies and studies of early Christianity [on women] is great, and it provides another opportunity to look at the intersection of Roman, Greek and Near Eastern cultural traditions.'
Description: "In ancient Roman law you were what you wore. This legal principle became highly significant because, beginning in the first century A.D., a "new" kind of woman emerged across the Roman empire - a women whose provocative dress and sometimes promiscuous lifestyle contrasted starkly with the decorum of the traditional married women. What a woman chose to wear came to identify her as either "new" or "modest."" "Augustus legislated against the "new" woman. Philosophical schools encouraged their followers to avoid embracing her way of life. And, as this fascinating book demonstrates for the first time, the presence of the "new" woman was also felt in the early church, where Paul exhorted Christian wives and widows to emulate neither her dress code nor her conduct."--Jacket.