Women in the Regia and the Republican Imagination

Abstract: This paper explores the relationship between gender and space through a consideration of women's ritual performances in the Regia, an ancient and sacred building at the edge of the Roman Forum. In this space, the regina sacrorum , the flaminica Dialis , the saliae virgines , and the Vestal Virgins performed a range of public rituals on behalf the Roman people. The paper examines how the material setting of the Regia and traditions associating it with the regal period shaped the experiences of the priestesses as they carried out their ritual obligations. It also considers how their ritual performances contributed to the perception that the Regia and many of the city's most important rituals were rooted in the regal period.