The Enemy’s Brides: Dionysius of Halicarnassus on the Abduction of the Sabine Women

Authors

  • Beatrice Poletti

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29173/histos473

Keywords:

Sabine women, Sabine war, female agency, Romulean constitution, Roman marriage, Roman identity

Abstract

Unlike other ancient sources focusing on the origin of Roman marriage, Dionysius of Halicarnassus read the abduction of the Sabine Women as a story to extol Roman foreign policy, based as it was on the principle of φιλανθρωπία as well as the foresight and political wisdom of the Roman ruling class. Romulus as a king-legislator and the Roman Senate are the real protagonists of the episode; the abducted women are bereft of, or given, agency according to their social and civic status: at first passive foreigners, they become fully sentient political beings after gaining Roman citizenship through marriage.

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Published

2021-07-01

How to Cite

Poletti, Beatrice. 2021. “The Enemy’s Brides: Dionysius of Halicarnassus on the Abduction of the Sabine Women”. Histos 15 (July). https://doi.org/10.29173/histos473.

Issue

Vol. 15 (2021): HISTOS 15 (2021)

Section

Articles

License

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