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on public life, and may adopt different ethnic symbols (Häussler 1997; Lomas 2009:
435–7). The different social roles of men and women can, therefore, have a signifi-
cant impact on which symbols of ethnic identity they adopt, and how they relate to
that identity.
Gender can also influence ethnic categorization—that is, how a society is perceived
by people from outside it. It is not uncommon for Greek and Roman writers to ascribe
gendered attributes to an entire society, often rendering it more “other” or alien, and
sometimes denigrating it. Tacitus, for instance, ascribed warlike and characteristically
masculine attributes to the Britons and Germans (Agricola11–14;Germania5–16).
This did not detract from their barbarian nature, in his eyes, which was demonstrated
by their disorganization and lack of indigenous urban culture, but he showed consider-
able appreciation for their courage and warlike nature. In contrast, some eastern cultures,
and even Greeks, are described pejoratively as effeminate and characterized by weakness,
fickleness, volubility, and love of luxury (Wardman 1976: 1–13; on anti-Hellenism and
ethnic stereotypes, see Gruen 1992: 262–5). Gender roles, and in particular the status
of women, in other societies could also reinforce a sense of difference. The Greeks were
shocked by the social visibility enjoyed by Etruscan women, which was much greater than
that of Greek women, and interpreted this as a sign of Etruscan immorality (Theopom-
pus, quoted in Athenaeus,DeipnosophistaiXII, 517d–f; see the following text). Gender
can, therefore, be important not just in the ways in which ethnic identity is configured
within a community, but also in the ways in which the community is perceived by out-
siders. This chapter will explore ways in which gender (both male and female) interacted
with ethnic identity, or created differences in the ways in which ethnic identities were
maintained and expressed, particularly among the social elite.
Defining Ethnicity in Ancient Italy
Ancient Italy was a region of extreme diversity containing many different ethnic and
cultural groups. Ancient writers name—among others—the Etruscans, Umbrians, Cam-
panians, Messapians, Picenes, Lucanians, Bruttians, Veneti, Raeti, and Samnites, as well
as the Celts who settled in parts of northern Italy and the Greeks who colonized the
south coast, and many other smaller ethnic groups or sub-groups. Italy was ethnically
fluid and underwent major changes, which have been variously characterized as pro-
cesses of invasion, migration, or acculturation (Pallottino 1990: 2–55; Dench 1995).
There was a strong Etruscan presence in parts of the Po valley and other areas of North-
ern Italy, and also in Campania, in the sixth and fifth centuriesBC, and substantial Celtic
migrations into northern Italy in the fifth–fourth centuries (Polybios 1.17.5–6; Williams
2001: 194–207; Häussler 2009: 53–7). In the fifth century, there was a rapid expansion
of the Oscan-speaking peoples of the central Apennines, which affected much of central
and southern Italy. From then on, much of southern Italy, and in particular the upland
regions, became dominated by groups of Oscan origin (Pallottino 1990: 99–105). The
main form of state organization, especially in central Italy, was the city-state. Urban devel-
opment began as early as the seventh centuryBCin Etruria, Latium, and Campania. In
contrast, the Apennines and other upland areas of Italy maintained a loosely federal polit-
ical organization and pattern of smaller non-urban settlements (Salmon 1965: 64–77;