Women and Female Deities in the Urban and Suburban Sanctuaries of Pompeii

Pompeii is always an outstanding point of observation for a lot of aspects of Roman society, such as cults and religion generally. All the city’s sanctuaries are quite well known, and they have been studied in many features. However, they can still communicate something about women and their participation in public cults, less studied in the past. This paper will analyze this aspect starting from archeological finds which show women as benefactors, especially for female deities, from the sixth century BC until 79 AD, going through all the phases of the city. Female votive objects are in fact rather easily recognizable, such as the little terracotta figurines found in the area of the Doric Temple, dedicated to Minerva, and at other sites within the city and just outside of it.