Fulvia and Octavia: the female warrior's and the matron's coins

Abstract

This paper aims to discuss the representation of two Roman women, Fulvia and Octavia, who were very different characters: the former was a model not to be followed; and the latter, a real matron. To work with this theme, written and material sources such as coins were used. It is known that Roman written sources were used to build hierarchies linked to an idealized discourse related to male domination. However, coins of these women were analysed in terms of what they wanted to communicate, especially the gender strategies built in their coinage, which suggested questioning how Fulvia and Octavia were presented to the public. To introduce the context in which these women lived, it should be borne in mind that, theoretically, the family remained under the power of the paterfamilias (patria potestas) at the period of the Republic and beginning of Empire. It was concluded that Fulvia and Octavia showed a female diversity in different sources, which were multiple constituted and took up multiple positions within a range of social discourses and practices.