Part 5

Bajae and Rome were also the places where the mysterious rites of the Bachanalia found the greatest number of devotees. Originally a festival in honor of Dionysos, the Greek god of spring and wine, it degenerated into wild orgies after its introduction to Rome. This is what Livy writes about it: “The mysterious rites were at first imparted to a few, but were afterwards communicated to great numbers, both men and women. To their religious performances were added the pleasures of wine and feasting, to allure a greater number of proselytes. When wine, lascivious discourse, night, and the mingling of the sexes had extinguished every sentiment of modesty, then debaucheries of every kind were practiced, as every person found at hand that sort of enjoyment to which he was disposed by the passion most prevalent in his nature. Nor were they confined to one species of vice, the promiscuous intercourse of freeborn men and women. From this storehouse of villainy proceeded false witnesses, counterfeit seals, false evidences, and pretended discoveries. In the same place, too, were perpetrated secret murders and other unmentionable infamies. To consider nothing unlawful was the grand maxim of their religion.”

It was in Bajae where Marcellus, the son-in-law of Emperor Augustus, was poisoned by intriguing Livia; and here Agrippina, the mother of Nero, was clubbed to death after an attempt by her son to shipwreck and drown her during a cruise in a magnificent gondola had failed.

In time adultery, poisoning and murder prevailed among the Roman society to such an extent, that men became afraid to enter matrimony, and addicted themselves to illicit intercourse.

This period of moral degeneration was, however, distinguished by a most wonderful rise of literature, science and art. At no time before so many beautiful temples, basilicas, theatres, arenas, public buildings, palaces and country-seats were erected. And all these buildings were adorned with an abundance of mosaics, mural paintings and works of sculpture. There were also numbers of brilliant writers, poets, dramatists, orators, law-makers and men who made themselves famous as naturalists or philosophers.

Of the philosophers the so-called Stoics, among them Seneca, Lucan, Epictetus and Musonius Rufus formed a school, which exerted a wide and active influence upon the world at the busiest and most important time in ancient history. This school was remarkable for its anticipation of modern ethical conceptions, for the lofty morality of its exhortations to forgive injuries and overcome evil with good. It also preached the obligation to universal benevolence on the principle that all men are brethren. Regarding virtue as the sole end, to be gained mainly by habit and training, the Stoics furthermore succeeded in reforming matrimonial life as well as the conceptions about women. In these efforts they were aided later on by an ethical movement of still greater power, namely Christianity.

WOMAN’S POSITION AMONG THE GERMANIC NATIONS.

Before we consider woman’s position in Christianity, we must take a glance at her status among another important branch of the Aryan race, the =Germans=.

As is familiar to every student of history, the Germans are indebted to an alien, the Roman Tacitus, for the best account of the character and manners of their ancestors. In his famous book “Germania” he describes them as a pure and unmixed race and gives many valuable particulars about their family life. He says: “Matrimony is the most respected of their institutions. They are almost the only barbarians who are content with one wife. Very few among them are exceptions to this rule and then they do so not for sensuality but for political considerations. The young men marry late, and their vigor is unimpaired. Nor are the maidens hurried into marriage. Well-matched and in full health they wed, and their offspring reproduce the strength of their parents. The wife does not bring a dowry to the man, but the husband to his bride. These presents are not trinkets to please female vanity or to serve for adornment, but on the contrary, they consist of cattle, a bridled horse, and a shield with sword and spear. While the wife is welcomed with such gifts, she too presents her husband with a piece of armor. All these things are held sacred as a mysterious symbol of matrimony. Lest the wife should think that she is shut out from heroic aspirations and from the perils of war, she is reminded by the ceremony which inaugurates marriage that now she is her husband’s partner in his toil as well as in all danger, and destined to share with him in peace and in war alike. This is the meaning of the yoked oxen, the bridled horse and the weapons. And she must live and die with the feeling that the weapons she has received, have to be handed down untarnished and undepreciated to her sons, from whom they are to pass to her daughters-in-law, and again to the grandchildren.

“So the wife lives under the protection of clean manners, uncorrupted by the allurements of voluptuous comedies or licentious festivals. Clandestine communication by letters is absolutely unknown. Adultery among this numerous people is exceedingly rare. Its punishment is left to the husband and quickly executed. In the presence of her relatives the guilty woman is kicked out of the house, naked and with her hair cut. And thus she is whipped through the whole village. Loss of chastity finds no excuse. Neither beauty nor youth nor wealth wins the culprit a husband, because no one indulges in vice or pardons seduction. Blessed the country where only virgins enter matrimony and where their vow to the husband is binding and final for all time. As they are born only once so are they married but once and they devote themselves to their husband as well as to the duties of matrimony. To limit the number of children or to kill one of them is regarded as a sacrilege. Thus good habits accomplish more here than good laws in other countries.”

Tacitus as well as other Roman writers state likewise that the women frequently accompanied the men in times of war and encouraged them in battle by their cheers and actions. “They always stay near them, so that the warriors may hear the voices of their wives and the wailing of their children. Women’s approval and praise is to the men of the highest value. To their mothers and wives they come with their wounds for relief, and the women do not hesitate to count the gashes, and dress the wounds. The women also encourage the men while they are fighting, and provide them with food and water. We have been told that wavering battle lines were made to stand fast by women, who with bare breasts mingled with the warriors and admonished them by their cries to new resistance.”—

Many of the names given to members of the fair sex, indicate the men’s great respect for women, and show that they were considered as able consorts even in battle. The names Daghilt, Sneburga, Swanhilt and Sunnihilt remind us of the purity of the daylight, the white of the snow and the swan, and the gold of the sunshine. And the qualities of strength, agility and skill in everything connected with war and victory we find in names like Hildegund, “the protectoress of the home”; Hadewig, “the mistress of battle”; Gertrud, “the thrower of the spear”; Gudrun, “the expert in war”; Thusinhilde or Thusnelda, “the giant fighter”; Sieglind, “the shield of victory”; Brunhild, “she who is strong like a bear,” and in many other names.

The many noble female personages who figure in German mythology also testify to the high conception the Germans had of womanhood. There was Frigg, the spouse of Odin, and the ideal personification of a German housewife. There was Freya, the goddess of spring, beauty and love; Gerda, the bright consort of Fro, the sun god; Sigune, the faithful; not to forget the Valkyries, those beautiful maidens who hovered over the field of battle, wakened the dead heroes with a kiss and carried them on their swift cloud horses to Valhalla, where they were welcomed and feasted by the gods and enjoyed all kinds of martial games.

The Germans saw in women also something that was sacred and prophetic. It was this belief that lent importance to Veleda, Alruna, and other prophetesses, who were looked up to as oracles, and played a conspicuous part during the time of the Roman invasion.

THE HEROIC WOMEN OF THE BRITONS AND THE NORSEMEN.

The same noble spirit that distinguished the German women, was likewise found among the females of =Britain= and =Scandinavia=. Tacitus in his “Annals” XIV gives an account of Boadicea, queen of the Iceni, a tribe that occupied the eastern coasts of Britain. To defend the independence of her country against the Romans, this queen succeeded in uniting some of the British tribes and drove the invaders from several fortified places. When Suetonius, on hearing of the revolt, hastened up with a strong army, he found himself opposed by large numbers of the aborigines, men as well as women. Among the fighters were many priestesses or Druids, who, clothed in black, with streaming hair and brandished torches, fought like furies. When they saw themselves far outnumbered and realized that all was lost, these women preferred death to slavery and perished among the flames, which destroyed their stronghold.

When the Roman legions met the main body of the Britons, they beheld Boadicea admonishing her warriors, to conquer or die in battle. In the fearful contest 70,000 Romans and 80,000 Britons were slain. But when the combat resulted in the complete defeat of the latter, Boadicea poisoned herself to avoid falling into the hands of the victor.

The Edda and many other sagas of the Scandinavians contain likewise accounts about heroic women such as they were in those days of the past: strong in body as in mind, and equal to any emergency. Brave alike in heart and in character, independent, open and frank, they were loyal to their husbands and their duty when fitly matched. Fearlessly they joined in the daring expeditions of their sea-kings, who packed their “dragon-ships” to full capacity with warriors and made raids on all the coasts of Europe, even on the countries that border the Mediterranean Sea.

From several interesting relics of old Icelandic literature we also know that as early as in 986 A. D. Norse women went with Eric the Red to Greenland. Here they helped in establishing a settlement, Brattahlid. And when in 1007 Thorfin Karlsefne sailed from this place to Vinland, some newly discovered country in the far Southwest, he too was accompanied by several women, among them his wife Gudrid. Some time after her arrival she gave birth to a son, Snorre, the first child of white parentage born on American soil.

Another of these fearless women, Froejdisa, took active part in a hot skirmish with the aborigines of Vinland. When the Norsemen were about to yield to the overwhelming numbers of these “Skraelings,” it was she who encouraged the men to stubborn resistance. Several years later, in 1012, this same resolute woman, in company with two men, fitted out an expedition of her own to Vinland. After an absence of one year she returned to Brattahlid with a large cargo of valuable lumber, furs, and other goods, but also suspected of having killed her partners as well as their men with her own hands.

WOMAN AMONG THE EARLY CHRISTIANS.

Just at the time, when the capitals of Hellas and Rome were reservoirs for all the streams of wickedness and infamy, there originated in Palestine a religious sect destined to exercise an enormous influence upon the moral and political life of the world. Its adherents called themselves =Christians=, “the Annointed,” and followed the doctrines of Jesus, who, according to the Jewish historian Josephus, was condemned for his teachings by Pilate, the Roman governor of Judæa, and crucified.

As Jesus left no records or gospels written by himself, we do not know his personal views about woman, home, marriage, and maternity. We must rely on the accounts which were written by his followers many years after his death, and now are called the New Testament. After the death of Jesus some of his followers drifted from Palestine to Syria, Greece and Rome, where for their pure and austere morals they attracted the attention of numerous persons who stood aghast in views of the vices that surrounded them.

For the spread of a new religion such as Christianity, the Roman world was wonderfully ripe. As it had been the politics of Rome not to interfere with the religions of the peoples subdued by her armies, there had been added to the already overcrowded pantheon of Rome many of the principal deities of the conquered nations. But there existed also a longing for some religion, which would have more individuality and personal power in it then were supplied by the thoughts of a supreme spiritual fate, or by the mere materialistic conception of the genius of Rome. There was a decided thirst for information about sacred things. Men discussed the claims of the various conflicting religions philosophically, and amid all the gross materialism of the time there were longings for some deeper, truer religion than any they had known.

This longing was satisfied by the simple but sublime conceptions of God held by the Christians, and also by the noble purity of their life. These Christians had no settled form of doctrine, no settled rule of discipline, no body of magistrates. They were merely an association of believers in a common faith, with common sentiments, feelings, emotions and convictions. To women this new religion was particularly appealing, as it preached many important reforms. First of all, it granted to woman the full right of disposing of herself. By making her consent necessary for marriage, woman remained no longer a piece of property, which might be sold or disposed of at will by the father, brother, husband or other relatives. She also was not compelled any more to accommodate, with her own body, some visiting strangers. There was no hierarchical prostitution, either, but matrimony was elevated to a sacred ceremony, of which the benediction of a priest formed a necessary part. Chastity was regarded a supreme law, which governed the whole family life.

The majority of these Christians consisted of poor illiterate people, who tried to lead a clean and honest life. Their simple manners and frugal habits contrasted strongly with the luxury of those Greek and Roman patricians among whom they dwelt. They regarded such extravagance with contempt, and the unlimited emancipation and licentiousness of the rich women filled them with horror.

Accordingly they applied to themselves strict rules which would protect them against any temptation. For this reason their women never adorned themselves with jewelry or gaudy dresses of dyed cloth, silk, and embroideries; they never wore false or colored hair. If married, they took care of the house, attended to the children, and were devoted to their husbands, whom they respected as the head of the family. The only occasion for their going out was when they went to church, or to visit some poor or sick neighbor.

Depending on one another, husband and wife endeavored to form that union recommended by the scriptures as the goal of married life.

Such happy nuptial ties inspired Tertullian, a Carthaginian, who came in contact with Christians in Rome, to the following lines: “Whence are we to find language adequate to describe the happiness of that marriage which the church cements and the oblation confirms, and the benediction signs and seals, which angels report and the Father holds as ratified? Together they pray, together prostrate themselves, together they perform their fasts, mutually teaching, mutually exhorting, mutually sustaining.”

Commemorations of conjugal happiness, and commendations of such female virtues as modesty, chastity, prudence and diligence, we also frequently find in many sepulchral inscriptions of the Catacombs, those famous subterranean cemeteries excavated by the early Christians of Rome for the express and sole purpose of burying their dead. There are inscriptions as for instance: “Our well deserving father and mother, who lived together (for 20, 30, 50 or even 60 years) without any complaint or quarrel, without taking or giving offense.”

During the first centuries of Christianity women took a prominent part in all affairs of the church and they were allowed to be active wherever there was a chance to spread the Gospel. In particular, they taught the children, took charge of the orphans, and acted as door-keepers in the assembly rooms, directing the worshipers to their places, and seeing that all behaved quietly and reverently.

The new sect, which in every respect contrasted so strongly with Roman customs and conceptions, could not fail to attract the attention and inquisitiveness of the people as well as of the Government. But also suspicion and hostility were aroused. As the Christians met secretly in private houses, people suspected that they were conspirators banded together for criminal purposes, that they occasionally slaughtered infants, poured their blood into a cup, and that passing this cup around they all drank of it. Their insistance in only one God, that of the despised Jews, and their aim to discredit and overthrow all other creeds of the world in order to fuse all mankind in their own faith, were decried as contempt of those deities, under which Rome had become great and prosperous. Naturally, their enmity against these deities was regarded as enmity against the State, which stood under the protection of these deities. Accused of being apostates and revolutionists, the Christians soon enough became the objects of much bitter persecution; such as has been described by Sienkiewicz in his famous book “Quo Vadis.”

During these persecutions the Christian women shared with their husbands, children and brothers all the horrible cruelties Roman ingenuity could invent. In the arena they were thrown before lions, tigers, bears and other savage beasts. They were crucified, or besmeared with pitch and publicly burned. Worst of all, many of those women who regarded chastity as their highest virtue, were handed over to the keepers of brothels and made victims to the voluptuous passions of the lowest class of people.

But in time the pure and noble ideals which inspired the hearts of those first Christians, began to appeal to the masses of the people. The scriptures of the great apologists Tertullian, Justin, Origenes and others were read and studied with growing interest. And when later on Emperor Constantine, surnamed the Great, for motives of political expediency, favored and adopted the new faith, the triumph of Christianity was secured.

WOMAN AMONG THE MOHAMMEDANS.

While thus the followers of Christ reformed the position of woman in the Roman empire, Mohammed, the founder of Islam or Mohammedanism, at the same time endeavored to better the condition of woman in the Orient. Born about the year 570 A. D. in Arabia he recognized, that the domestic life of the Arabs was marked by many embarrassing improprieties. Polygamy was customary everywhere, and while among the rich people the wife was nothing but a toy, for no other purpose but to satisfy passion, among the poorer classes she was merely a suppressed slave, who could be sent away, when she was no longer young, or had lost her good looks, or had become unable to work. Concubinage and prostitution prevailed among the population of the cities as well as among the Bedouins, who led the same nomadic life as had the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob several thousand years ago.

To improve the position of woman, Mohammed inserted in the Koran, his great moral codex, a number of instructions, which shine forth like gold threads in the fabric of a beautiful curtain. He ordered the men to treat their wives with forbearance and respect, as was becoming in the stronger toward the weaker sex. Children were impressed to give love and comfort to their parents to the end of their days and show them the highest reverence.

To diminish polygamy and to give women a secure legal standing, Mohammed also reduced the number of lawful wives to four, and allowed this number to such men only as were wealthy enough to provide for certain comforts. Furthermore, he placed the men under the obligation, to be faithful to their wives and treat all with equal kindness.

To protect women from the many temptations of too close a social intercourse with men, Mohammed took pains to exclude women as much as possible from contact with the outer world. Therefore he insisted on the strict observance of the ancient Oriental custom that women must not appear in the streets or in presence of other men than their husbands except with their faces heavily veiled. This order has been observed in all Mohammedan countries up to the present day. Only slaves and peasant women are allowed to go unveiled, as the veil would hinder them at work. Therefore, outsiders can study the features of Mohammedan women only from members of the lower classes. To find out who is who among the veiled females seen in the streets of oriental cities is impossible even for their own husbands.