Lex Oppia
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The ''Lex Oppia'' was a law established in
ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...
in 215 BC, at the height of the Second Punic War during the days of national catastrophe after the Battle of Cannae,Lewis, Naphtali, and Meyer Reinhold, eds. Roman Civilization: Selected Readings. 3rd ed. Vol. 1. New York: Columbia UP, 1990. 489-496. and repealed in 195 BC. Instituted by Marcus Oppius, a
tribune of the plebs Tribune of the plebs, tribune of the people or plebeian tribune ( la, tribunus plebis) was the first office of the Roman state that was open to the plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most important check on the power o ...
during the
consulship A consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum'' (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politic ...
of
Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus, surnamed Cunctator ( 280 – 203 BC), was a Roman statesman and general of the third century BC. He was consul five times (233, 228, 215, 214, and 209 BC) and was appointed dictator in 221 and 217 BC. He was ...
and Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, the ''Lex Oppia'' was the first of a series of
sumptuary laws Sumptuary laws (from Latin ''sūmptuāriae lēgēs'') are laws that try to regulate consumption. ''Black's Law Dictionary'' defines them as "Laws made for the purpose of restraining luxury or extravagance, particularly against inordinate expendi ...
, and it restricted not only a woman's wealth, but also her display of wealth. Specifically, it forbade any woman to possess more than half an ounce of gold, to wear a multi-colored garment (particularly those trimmed in purple), or to ride in an animal-drawn vehicle in the city or any town or within a mile thereof, except in the case of public religious festivals.Johnston, Patricia A. "Poenulus 1, 2 and Roman Women." ''Transactions of the American Philological Association'' 110 (1980): 143-159. ''JSTOR''. In his '' Ab urbe condita'' (From the founding of the city) book 34
Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...
discusses the abolishment of the ''Lex Oppia'' from the perspective of
Cato the elder Marcus Porcius Cato (; 234–149 BC), also known as Cato the Censor ( la, Censorius), the Elder and the Wise, was a Roman soldier, senator, and historian known for his conservatism and opposition to Hellenization. He was the first to write his ...
and Lucius Valerius.


Origin

The ''Lex Oppia'' had been primarily an economic measure in response to serious financial issues during the Second Punic War. However, the restrictions it imposed laid the framework for later sumptuary legislation designed to control expenditure on extravagance for social rather than economic reasons.Astin, A., F. Walbank, M. Frederiksen, and R. Ogilvie, eds. The Cambridge Ancient History. 2nd ed. Vol. 8. New York: Cambridge UP, 1989. 181-185, 439, 453, 495. Notable sumptuary legislation passed after the ''Lex Oppias creation includes the ''Lex Fannia'' of 161 BC and the ''Lex Didia'' of 143 BC. The ''Lex Fannia'' was a statute that limited dinner expenditure, the kind of food that could be offered and the number of guests, while the ''Lex Didia'' was an application of the ''Lex Fannia'' to the entire Italian peninsula that imposed sanctions on providers of, as well as guests at, illegal dinners. The basis for concern about luxury and extravagance was mixed. It was a universal assumption that indulgence in luxury could undermine traditional military virtues. In his satire book six,
Juvenal Decimus Junius Juvenalis (), known in English as Juvenal ( ), was a Roman poet active in the late first and early second century CE. He is the author of the collection of satirical poems known as the '' Satires''. The details of Juvenal's life ...
writes that Rome's excessive wealth from conquest caused the spread of luxury, leading to the downfall of Roman values and morals. A devotion to luxury was considered to be a stimulus to greed, and thus a major contributor to the increase in corruption. Finally, there was a widespread tendency to correlate lavish and self-indulgent expenditures with uneconomical use of personal or family fortunes.


Repeal

Following the Second Punic War, with Rome victorious over
Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the cla ...
, wealth from the conquered areas began to flow into the hands of the Roman ruling class, transforming their lives from one of traditional agrarian simplicity to ostentatious display and unbounded extravagance. The victory made wealthier Romans aware of the possibilities of different, more comfortable life styles, and gave them access to more varied, more exotic and more luxurious products. During this period, there was an inevitable change of ''
mores Mores (, sometimes ; , plural form of singular , meaning "manner, custom, usage, or habit") are social norms that are widely observed within a particular society or culture. Mores determine what is considered morally acceptable or unacceptable ...
'', which in practice meant largely the conduct of individuals in the upper strata of Roman society; and with the financial woes eliminated, there was no longer a reason for women to restrict their expenditures. With Rome rich in Carthaginian wealth, attempts to check self-indulgent expenditure with sumptuary legislation proved vain. Consequently, two tribunes of the plebs, Marcus Fundanius and Lucius Valerius, proposed repealing the ''Lex Oppia''. The supporters of the ''Lex Oppia'' were led by two tribunes of the plebs, Marcus Junius Brutus and Publius Junius Brutus, and consul Marcus Porcius Cato, also known as
Cato the Elder Marcus Porcius Cato (; 234–149 BC), also known as Cato the Censor ( la, Censorius), the Elder and the Wise, was a Roman soldier, senator, and historian known for his conservatism and opposition to Hellenization. He was the first to write his ...
, who had been elected in 195 BC. Cato argued that the law removed the shame of poverty because it made all women dress in an equal fashion. Cato insisted that if women could engage in a clothes-contest, they would either feel shame in the presence of other women, or on the contrary, they would delight in a rather base victory as a result of extending themselves beyond their means. He also declared that a woman's desire to spend money was a disease that could not be cured, but only restrained; the removal of ''Lex Oppia'', Cato said, would render society helpless in limiting the expenditures of women. Cato pronounced that Roman women already corrupted by luxury were like wild animals who have once tasted blood in the sense that they can no longer be trusted to restrain themselves from rushing into an orgy of extravagance. Cato also chastises the men for letting their women sway them into repealing the law and affirms that its abrogation will cause the spread of luxury. The proponents of abolishing the ''Lex Oppia'' were led by Marcus Fundanius and Lucius Valerius, as well as the other consul,
Lucius Valerius Flaccus Lucius Valerius Flaccus may refer to: * Lucius Valerius Flaccus (consul 261 BC) * Lucius Valerius Flaccus (consul 195 BC) * Lucius Valerius Flaccus (consul 131 BC), Flamen Martialis * Lucius Valerius Flaccus (consul 100 BC) * Lucius Valerius Flacc ...
, elected in 195 BC. Flaccus contested Cato's assumption that there would be no rivalry among women if they did not own anything by reminding the audience of the suffering and anger Roman women feel when they see the wives of Latin allies wearing ornaments of which they have been deprived. Lucius Valerius Flaccus had further argued that the Lex Oppia was only an emergency temporary law passed after the disastrous defeat of Roman soldiers in Cannae by Hannibal. As such, he argues, it was never meant to keep women's spending and morality in check. Lucius Valerius also states that the privileges allotted to Roman women are already limited compared to Roman men; why restrict them further.
''feminis dumtaxat purpurae usu interdicemus?'' ''et cum tibi viro liceat purpura in vestem stragulam uti,'' ''matrem familiae tuam purpureum amiculum habere non sines,'' ''et equus tuus speciosius instratus erit quam uxor vestita?'' Will we forbid women the use of purple? And although you, a man, are allowed to use purple for the blanket on your bed, will you not allow your wife to have a purple cloak? Even your horse will be more beautifully arrayed than your wife is clothed.
Lucius Valerius rebukes Cato the Elder. From the Ab Urbe Condita book 35.7. As nobles spoke for or against the repeal of the ''Lex Oppia'', the matrons of Rome crowded the
Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...
. As Livy writes, the women could not be kept indoors by either the authority of the magistrates or the orders of their husbands or their own sense of propriety (nec auctoritate, nec uerecundia). They blocked all the streets of the city and the approaches to the Forum, and implored the men as they descended to the Forum to allow the women to resume their former adornments. After the speeches against and in favor of the ''Lex Oppia'', the women poured into the streets the next day in greater numbers and besieged the doors of the two Brutuses. The dissenting tribunes eventually gave in to the persistent demanding of the Roman matrons, and the ''Lex Oppia'' was repealed in 195 BC.


See also

*
Roman law Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (c. 449 BC), to the '' Corpus Juris Civilis'' (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor Ju ...
* List of Roman laws


References


External links


The Roman Law Library, incl. ''Leges''
{{Authority control 195 BC 215 BC Roman law Women's rights legislation Women in ancient Rome