Mentions of female farm managers are conspicuously hidden in ancient Roman texts, laws, literature, and tomb inscriptions spanning five centuries. Modern historians have generally assumed that they were domestic servants, in charge of household tasks and household meals, and separate from the productive business of the farm.
my new paperPublished in the Journal of Roman Archaeology, challenges this assumption.
In fact, there is evidence that many Roman female farm managers supervised wine production and other processes critical to farming and profit.
a false lead
an agricultural manual written by a roman author Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella 1st century BC There is a window for female manager roles in.
Columella, himself an upper-class landowner, lists the responsibilities of farm managers, who were probably slaves. The male manager was called a vilikus and the female manager was called a vilika, terms derived from their roles in the “villa”.
but many historians This text has been misread: Columella begins his section on vilica with a long quotation from the Greek philosopher xenophonWho wrote in Athens more than four centuries ago.
A quote from Greek philosophy has led many to misunderstand the role of women in ancient Roman farming.
According to Xenophon, the “natural” role of women was to work inside the home. Hence in his discussion, the ideal upper class married woman is depicted as living inside her city house to supervise the domestic work of slaves.
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The Greek writers are not discussing farm labourers. In fact, Columella states four times that these views are not his own, but those of Xenophon, who was writing much earlier.
Columella lists an entirely different set of responsibilities for the vilica on a Roman farm: most importantly, making wine and olive oil, which were highly valued commodities – the backbone of landowners’ profits.
In his description of the duties of the villica, Columella includes extracting juice from grapes during harvest; adding flavorings and preservatives such as salt, wormwood, fennel or steamed grape juice; and overseeing the successful fermentation of wine.
According to Columella, Vilica also managed the processing of other agricultural products to make them longer-lasting and profitable, such as turning inedible olives into olive oil for sale.
From archeology We know that the production of wine or oil can reach 50,000 to 100,000 liters or even more per year, using large machines in large buildings. Vilica was therefore responsible for overseeing the large-scale work required to run the estate.
invoking the gods
Proper sacrifices to the gods were considered vital to the success of the farm. Archeology has unearthed altars for offerings in Roman wine-making buildings.
wine making in the roman world This was an uncertain process due to uncontrolled temperature, bacteria or oxygenation. Wine can easily become moldy or turn into vinegar.
A notable element of Columella’s account is that he includes making offerings to prevent such a disaster in his instructions to the female farm manager.
Looking for more clues
Vilika is barely mentioned in other texts, leaving only a trace of her presence.
But we can still gather some clues.
legal articles On inheritance, quoting the first-century BC jurist Trebatius, he includes Instrumentum Fundi – Productive work, whatever is necessary (including slave workers) to collect and preserve the production of property.
A mosaic depicting Roman peasant women in the Villa Romana del Casale, Sicily.
(Image credit: Joe Lynch)
Another aristocratic landowner and writer, Cato the ElderThose living two centuries before Columella list both female and male farm managers as essential employees for a vineyard or olive farm.
He devotes only a small section to outlining the tasks of the female farm manager, but a closer look reveals that these are not primarily domestic. Cato involves poultry farming and processing of seasonal agricultural products. Although that includes the supervision of cleanliness, it may also refer to the maintenance of work places such as stables and brewing buildings, an integral part of estate management – and is also listed among the duties of the vilica by Columella.
Cato also gives Willika the responsibility of offering sacrifices to the gods for the success of the farm. He writes, “For abundance” they should regularly offer rosaries at the altar.
A Roman mosaic depicting the work of the estate in different seasons depicts a scene of sacrifices to the god Jupiter for abundant crops (in his masterpiece) celtic form As a sky and weather god). A woman is shown offering garlands, as instructed by Cato. Next to her is a jug for wine offerings and a male figure.
A woman is depicted offering garlands at the altar. Next to her is a jug for wine offerings and a male figure.
Perhaps this mosaic depicts the villica and villicus, which are essential for the success of the annual crop. Although such images of female figures are rare, A fragmentary wall painting from Rome As Columella describes, a woman is shown supervising workers making wine.
This combined body of evidence suggests that we should expand our earlier understanding of the roles played by Roman women in agricultural production, a key sector of ancient economies.
No Willika has left us an account of his work in his own words. But by paying attention to the evidence we can hear echoes of his voice.
This edited article has been republished Conversation Under Creative Commons license. read the original article.
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