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 Woman in a Greek Peplos |
In this excerpt from the preface to his work on the biographies of great men, Nepos includes some striking differences between the expected behaviors of elite Roman and Greek women, particularly in regard to their domestic arrangements. His goal in writing this series of brief biographies was to praise and set forth as exampla the qualities and achievements of eminent Roman and non-Roman men. His method of composition was to parallel famous men in categories -- generals, historians, kings, poets, and perhaps orators -- placing them within their differing cultural environments. Nepos begins his work with a preface in which he anticipates that many of his readers will consider trivial his approach of discussing the cultural habits of his subjects because they respect only their own customs. |
 Woman in a Roman Palla |
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Sed hi erunt fere, qui expertes litterarum Graecarum nihil rectum, nisi quod ipsorum moribus conveniat, putabunt. |
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Hi, si didicerint non eadem omnibus esse honesta atque turpia sed omnia maiorum institutis iudicari, non admirabuntur nos in Graiorum virtutibus exponendis mores eorum secutos. |
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Neque enim Cimoni fuit turpe, Atheniensium summo viro, sororem germanam habere in matrimonio, quippe cum cives eius eodem uterentur instituto. At id quidem nostris moribus nefas habetur…. Nulla Lacedaemoni vidua tam est nobilis, quae non ad scenam eat mercede conducta. |
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…in scaenam vero prodire ac populo esse spectaculo nemini in eisdem gentibus fuit turpitudini.… |
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Contra ea, pleraque nostris moribus sunt decora quae apud illos turpia putantur. Quem enim Romanorum pudet uxorem ducere in convivium? Aut cuius non mater familias primum locum tenet aedium atque in celebritate versatur? |
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Quod multo fit aliter in Graecia. Nam neque in convivium adhibetur nisi propinquorum, neque sedet nisi in interiore parte aedium, quae gynaeconitis appellatur; quo nemo accedit nisi propinqua cognatione coniunctus. |
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