The Romans, like the Greeks before them, held many traditional ideas about women's behavior and the role women should play in society.

These views are reflected in the writings of the jurists, even when, at times, the jurists themselves do not agree with them. Imperial pronouncements of the third, fourth, and fifth centuries also endorse popular ideas of woman's “weakness” and legal inadequacy. Such stereotypes helped to explain the restrictions on women's legal and public activities [for which see Parts V and VI], which were often at odds with the realities of women's activities and evident competence.