Antonine women and the place names of the Roman Empire

This article aims to highlight the increase in the number of place names derived from the names of the women associated with the Roman emperors that took place during the Antonines’ era. In the first place the author will discuss astionyms, the etymology of which is unequivocally confirmed in the sources, followed by those, the provenance of which from matrons tied with the Antonines is less or more likely. Then, the reader’s attention will be drawn to a group of place names, the connection of which with the women of the Antonines’ circle cannot be ruled out, and which have been omitted from previous compilations of the ‘dynastic’ astionymy of the Roman Empire. In addition to approximating the number of place names derived from women close to the Antonines, the article attempts to place the subject-matter phenomenon in the context of the changes taking place in the public presentation of women linked to the dynasty of the ‘Golden Age’.