Abstract:
The fourth century A.D. was a time of major change in the Roman empire, which affected the social, religious, and political landscape. At this time Christianity was still developing its central doctrines and behavioural ideals. This thesis explores that process through the lives of women. Pre-Christian Roman authors, such as Virgil, Livy and others had constructed female exemplars whose stories underpinned the values and moral ideals of Rome. Later male Christian authors, such as Ambrose and Jerome, wrote about the lives of Christian women whom they believed to be exemplary. This thesis argues that the establishment of Christianity was a negotiation with the existing culture and therefore while change did take place, these deeply rooted Roman values did not change. The male authors presented their own perspectives as to how women might prioritise and practice Roman values. In order to balance the male and female perspectives, this thesis also examines two texts authored by women to identify different perspectives when putting values into practice.
This thesis presents these texts in two parts. Part One explores the narratives of both classical and late antique women composed by the male authors. This section concludes with Egeria’s diary as a comparison with the ideas they advance. Part Two uses Faltonia Betitia Proba’s Virgilian Cento to explore the characterisation of two women central to the Christian narrative: Eve and Mary. The works of Egeria and Proba present the same values and ideals that are presented by the male authors. However, their expectation of the behaviours that demonstrate these values departs in some respects from that which is prescribed by the men. While the fourth century brought about change due to the acceptance of Christianity, the negotiation of Roman culture with Christian ideas resulted in integration and continuity of pre-Christian ideals.
