Prestigio y poder: el reconocimiento público femenino en la Hispania romana
Résumé
In the Imperial period, certain elite Roman’s women played an important public role in their respective ciuitates, as priestesses or evergetes. Certain women were thus able to emerge from the anonymity of the female gender and act publicly, thus measuring themselves against the actions of men and their official recognition. And it is this public recognition, the ultimate consecration of female participation in the public life of Roman cities, that is the subject of this work. The analysis of hispanic epigraphic documentation shows that the official public recognition of a lady was a rare and highly significant act. In general, cities and collectivities honoured certain ladies because of or thanks to their family relations and not because of their personal actions. Publicly and officially honouring a woman was the highest recognition that could be given to a family, and, consequently, to the men of a family, to the best citizens. So much so that even theirs women deserved the homage of the community.