Journal article
Female Patrons of Waterworks in the Eastern Roman Empire
Eugesta, Vol.15, pp.1-42
11/01/2025
DOI: 10.54563/eugesta.1611
Abstract
This article examines the architectural remains and ornaments of monumental fountains, wells, and water networks commissioned by non-imperial women in the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire, with a focus on contextualizing a particularly unusual well in Buthrotum, which is dedicated by a woman named Junia Rufina and without reference to any family members. This comparison of hydraulic benefactions by women across communities highlights the range of ways that women funded these expensive amenities, from independent sponsorship to joint dedications with husbands and cities to sharing certain aspects of the hydraulic network with a range of family members. A unifying theme across these benefactions is that the dedicatory inscriptions consistently highlight the woman’s civic or religious roles, and that the architectural and decorative remains of the monuments showcase the woman as an important member of her family and community. I suggest that these women used their permanent gifts of potable water not only to commemorate ephemeral roles as priestesses but also to underscore their lifelong responsibilities as caretakers of both their families and communities.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Female Patrons of Waterworks in the Eastern Roman Empire
- Creators
- Brenda Longfellow
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Eugesta, Vol.15, pp.1-42
- DOI
- 10.54563/eugesta.1611
- ISSN
- 2265-8777
- eISSN
- 2265-8777
- Publisher
- Université de Lille
- Language
- German
- Date published
- 11/01/2025
- Academic Unit
- Classics; School of Art, Art History, and Design; University College Courses
- Record Identifier
- 9985089135002771
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