Vipsania Agrippina Women In Rome

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Being a female and being ambitious during the days of the Roman Empire was frustrating; ambition was not an encouraged trait for a female. Women were banded from having political rights. Instead, they were expected to devote their time and energy to their households, and the main obligation was to have and take care of their children. The Agrippina women, however, defied the gender expectations in order to gain power. “Today, almost exactly two millennia after her birth, she stands out as the sole Roman woman to attempt to break the ultimate glass ceiling: to wield the power of a princeps, not just behind the scenes but before the astonished eyes of the senate, the army and the Roman political elite.” (Romm, 2014) Vipsania Agrippina (figure 1), most commonly known as Agrippina Major or Agrippina the Elder (14 BCE –33), was a distinguished and prominent Roman woman of the first century CE. Julia Agrippina (figure 2), also known as Agrippina the Younger (AD 15-59), was one of Vipsania’s daughters. By choosing to involve themselves with…show more content…
Her distinctive features include her lips, her big eyes, and had the typical hairstyle that most women did during Tiberius’ reign. Vipsania was excessively devoted to her husband, displaying faithfulness that Roman society valued in women above nearly all else. Vipsania Agrippina was the first woman of high rank in the Roman Empire to travel with her husband on military campaigns, and the first Roman matron to have more than one child who became emperor. She was well respected and regarded as a model of heroic womanhood, but Vipsania managed to balance her respectability with her ambition, influence in politics, and her defiance of the gender expectations. The detailed busts and sculpted works allow us to see the preferred public image of Vipsania Agrippina as she was to be seen during her lifetime by the broad
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