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This paper examines the depiction of Roman freedwomen (former slaves) in thirty-five late Republican and Augustan funerary portraits. Extant portraits utilize a complex visual and written vocabulary to reveal a wide variety of views of freedwomen’s status and agency. This paper relies upon analyses of the cultural climates of the late Republican and Augustan period, careful interrogation of the material evidence through the lens of both post-structuralist and affective theory, and the use of case studies. Ultimately, it argues that funerary portraits create diverse representations of the ideal freedwoman that become part of an ongoing cultural dialogue concerning the place of freedwomen in Roman society.

During the Augustan period, Pompeii’s elite restructured city landmarks to augment their own power. This paper studies the intersection of class and urban geography in this key moment of Pompeii’s history, identifying how changing physical landmarks benefits or disadvantages multiple classes of Pompeian residents. Although the impact of the rise of Augustus on the city of Rome has been studied extensively, this paper supplements that research by studying physical changes within the south Italian setting of Pompeii. In the Augustan period, Pompeii’s urban environment increasingly emphasized major public spaces and elite-dominated monumental architecture over earlier neighborhood landmarks that gave prestige to multiple classes. Due to this shift, the power of Pompeii’s many non-elite classes decreased throughout the town while the elite capitalized on urban changes to increase their influence over Pompeii. Augustan Pompeii transitioned from a mixed-power to an elite-dominated city.

During the Augustan period, Pompeii’s elite restructured city landmarks to augment their own power. This paper studies the intersection of class and urban geography in this key moment of Pompeii’s history, identifying how changing physical landmarks benefits or disadvantages multiple classes of Pompeian residents. Although the impact of the rise of Augustus on the city of Rome has been studied extensively, this paper supplements that research by studying physical changes within the south Italian setting of Pompeii. In the Augustan period, Pompeii’s urban environment increasingly emphasized major public spaces and elite-dominated monumental architecture over earlier neighborhood landmarks that gave prestige to multiple classes. Due to this shift, the power of Pompeii’s many non-elite classes decreased throughout the town while the elite capitalized on urban changes to increase their influence over Pompeii. Augustan Pompeii transitioned from a mixed-power to an elite-dominated city.