At no time in Roman history could women themselves serve as senators or hold political magis­tracies on the imperial, provincial or local level.141

But women of high status — those from senatorial and equestrian families and those in the municipal elites of the Empire — played an important role in imperial society because of their wealth and family connections.

For this reason the law was interested in them, and regulated their rank and their munificent activities. The sources translated in this section, along with dozens of laudatory inscriptions set up by communities to honor elite women, demonstrate that women were in fact expected to play a role in public life, albeit to a much more limited extent than their fathers, brothers, and husbands. However, it should be stressed that this role, and the honor paid to these women, was contingent on their membership in wealthy, elite families. Just as women’s role in legal matters was restricted to matters involving themselves or close family members [Part V], so their role in civic life was restricted to acting as part of, or on behalf of, their family [van Bremen 1996].

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