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FREISENBRUCH, A., Vrouwen van Rome. Seks, macht & politiek in het Romeinse rijk. Vertaald door Mieke Lindenburg. Atheneum-Polak & Van Gennep, Amsterdam, 2011. 463p. Paperback. Nice copy. 'This book takes the reader through the times when emperors were fairly happy with their wives, and into later times, when there were even signs of affection. After the watershed of 35 BC, the next big change for women is the acceptance of Christianity: by then, prominent women are allowed to be chaste and ascetic, rather than obedient breeders, and the new church gave them new roles. In the Eastern empire, they became admired for the incursions they made into orthodox theology: when Pulcheria, sister of Theodosius II, decided that Mary was not just mother of Christ, but mother of God, she could find a bishop to fix it for her. The author is quick to see the far-reaching consequences of such stories and to apply the lessons to modern times; the comparisons with, for example, American presidents aren't fanciful. At one point, she suggests that it goes deeper even than that. Referring to the Roman habit of turning luminaries into gods, Freisenbruch points out that 'divine honours (for a woman) were less of a personal tribute than a routine benefit intended more for the glorification of her ruling emperor than the recipient'. Even so, in this colourful, pacy survey of dominant Roman women, we can admire them in their own right.' (TOM PAYNE on the English edition in The Telegraph 2010-08-02). € 45.00 (Antiquarian) ISBN: 9789025368395