Hortensia

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hortensia (* after the mid-90s BC) is the only woman in ancient Rome who is known by name to have appeared publicly as a speaker.

Hortensia was the daughter of the speaker and consul Quintus Hortensius Hortalus .

42 BC She gave a speech against a special tax planned by the triumvirs for women and thus achieved that the tax was lowered. A translation of this speech has come down to us from Appian , but it is probably not authentic.

Speak to the second triumvirate

In 42 BC Nearly all of Rome's state-supported military legions, which were subordinate to the triumvirs Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus and Marcus Antonius, were at war with the murderers of Julius Caesar (Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus, Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus). . To finance the ongoing war, the triumvirs had sold the property of wealthy citizens who were under proscription , that is, ostracized. However, this source of income did not prove to be lucrative enough, and the three men voted for a tax to be imposed on the 1,400 richest women in Rome. These women, outraged at being taxed over a war they had no control over, chose Hortensia to voice their concerns to the triumvirs. (During wartime women were allowed to break tradition and speak out in public.) In a large group of citizens, the women marched to the Roman Forum, where Hortensia gave her famous speech. The second century Greek historian Appian documented this speech. Appian's translation reproduces the content of Hortensia's speech:

"You have already taken our fathers, our sons, our husbands and our brothers from us, on charges of wronging yourselves; if you also take our property away from us, you plunge us into circumstances that are of our origins, our customs and ours Gender are inappropriate. Why should we women pay taxes if we are not part of the honor, power, and government that you compete against each other with such devastating consequences? “Because there is war,” you say? When were there no wars? and when were taxes ever imposed on women who were already disadvantaged in humanity by their gender? "

Hortensia questioned the practice of double taxation of women who were also excluded from public office. Quoting Hortensia, Appian stated, "Why should we pay taxes if we do not participate in any office, honor, military command, or government that you are waging war against with such dire consequences?"

Effects

Angry that their authority was being challenged by a group of women, Octavian, Antonius and Lepidus tried unsuccessfully to push the women off the rostrum. The next day, the triumvirate reduced the number of women affected by the tax to 400 and compensated for the loss of income by forcing male landowners to lend money to the state and to help pay the war costs.

praise

Hortensia's speech was later hailed by contemporaries as a model of the nuanced rhetoric for which her father was famous. Appian continues:

“Because by bringing back her father's eloquence, she brought back most of the tax. Quintus Hortensius revived in his daughter and his spirit in her words. "

Life

Little is known about Hortensia's life other than her speaking career. She was the daughter of Quintus Hortensius (114 - 50 BC), probably from his first wife Lutatia. Her father was known among the Romans for his poignant speeches on history and law, as well as for his rivalry with orator Marcus Tullius Cicero. As a member of the aristocracy, Hortensia grew up in a wealthy family and therefore had early access to Greek and Latin literature. She later focused on the study of rhetoric by reading speeches by her father and prominent Roman and Greek speakers.

Hortensia is also said to be with her second cousin Quintus Servilius Caepio, son of Quintus Servilius Caepio the Elder. J. and brother of Cato Uticensis and Servilia were married; However, she became a widow when he was 67 BC. BC died. She had a daughter, Servilia, who married another Conservative Senator. Her husband adopted his sister's son, Marcus Junius Brutus, before his death; Brutus officially became Quintus Servilius Caepio Junianus by adoption, although he later rejected the name (but not the wealth and patrician status) for political reasons.

literature

Remarks

  1. ↑ Your father, born 114 BC BC, was no later than 91 BC. Married, see Cicero , de officiis 3,228.
  2. ↑ Valerius Maximus 8,3,3 .
  3. ↑ Appian, Civil Wars 4.32–34 (English).
personal data
SURNAME Hortensia
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Daughter of the Roman orator Hortensius
DATE OF BIRTH after 100 BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH after 42 BC Chr.