Hortensia (orator)
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Hortensia ( 42 BC), daughter of consul and advocate
Quintus Hortensius Quintus Hortensius Hortalus (114–50 BC) was a Roman lawyer, an orator and a statesman. Politically he belonged to the Optimates. He was consul in 69 BC alongside Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus. His nickname was ''Dionysia'', after a fam ...
, earned renown during the late
Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...
as a skilled
orator An orator, or oratist, is a public speaker, especially one who is eloquent or skilled. Etymology Recorded in English c. 1374, with a meaning of "one who pleads or argues for a cause", from Anglo-French ''oratour'', Old French ''orateur'' (14 ...
. She is best known for giving a speech in front of the members of the
Second Triumvirate The Second Triumvirate was an extraordinary commission and magistracy created at the end of the Roman republic for Mark Antony, Lepidus, and Octavian to give them practically absolute power. It was formally constituted by law on 27 November ...
in 42 BC that resulted in the partial repeal of a tax on wealthy Roman women.


Life

Little is known about the life of Hortensia aside from her career as an orator. She was the daughter of
Quintus Hortensius Quintus Hortensius Hortalus (114–50 BC) was a Roman lawyer, an orator and a statesman. Politically he belonged to the Optimates. He was consul in 69 BC alongside Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus. His nickname was ''Dionysia'', after a fam ...
apparently by his first wife Lutatia. Her father was well known among Romans due to his moving sermons on history and law and from his rivalry with his fellow orator
Marcus Tullius Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...
. As a member of the aristocracy, Hortensia grew up in a wealthy household, and thus had access to
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
and
Latin literature Latin literature includes the essays, histories, poems, plays, and other writings written in the Latin language. The beginning of formal Latin literature dates to 240 BC, when the first stage play in Latin was performed in Rome. Latin literatur ...
from a young age. She later concentrated on the study of
rhetoric Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. It is one of the three ancient arts of discourse ( trivium) along with grammar and logic/ dialectic. As an academic discipline within the humanities, rhetoric aims to study the techniques that speakers or w ...
by reading speeches by the likes of her father and prominent Greek orators. Hortensia is also believed to have been married to her second cousin
Quintus Servilius Caepio Quintus Servilius Caepio may refer to: * Quintus Servilius Caepio (consul 140 BC) * Quintus Servilius Caepio (consul 106 BC) * Quintus Servilius Caepio (quaestor 103 BC) * Quintus Servilius Caepio (adoptive father of Brutus) * Quintus Servilius ...
, son of Quintus Servilius Caepio the Younger.


Speech before the Second Triumvirate

In 42 BC, nearly all of Rome's state-sponsored military
legion Legion may refer to: Military * Roman legion, the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army * Aviazione Legionaria, Italian air force during the Spanish Civil War * A legion is the regional unit of the Italian carabinieri * Spanish Legion, ...
s, which were under the command of triumvirs
Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...
, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, and
Marcus Antonius Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the ...
, were at war with the assassins of
Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...
(
Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus (27 April 81 BC – September 43 BC) was a Ancient Rome, Roman general and politician of the crisis of the Roman Republic, late republican period and one of the leading instigators of Julius Caesar's Assassination ...
,
Marcus Junius Brutus Marcus Junius Brutus (; ; 85 BC – 23 October 42 BC) was a Roman politician, orator, and the most famous of the assassins of Julius Caesar. After being adopted by a relative, he used the name Quintus Servilius Caepio Brutus, which was reta ...
and
Gaius Cassius Longinus Gaius Cassius Longinus (; – 3 October 42 BC) was a Roman senator and general best known as a leading instigator of the plot to assassinate Julius Caesar on 15 March 44 BC. He was the brother-in-law of Brutus, another leader of the conspir ...
). To fund the ongoing war, the triumvirs had resorted to selling the property of wealthy citizens killed by
proscription Proscription () is, in current usage, a 'decree of condemnation to death or banishment' (''Oxford English Dictionary'') and can be used in a political context to refer to state-approved murder or banishment. The term originated in Ancient Rome ...
; however, this source of revenue did not prove to be lucrative enough, and the three men voted to place a tax on Rome's 1,400 most wealthy women. The women, outraged at having been taxed for a war they had no control over, chose Hortensia to articulate their concerns to the triumvirs. (In wartime women were allowed to break tradition and engage in public speaking). Along with a large group of interested citizens, the women marched to the
Roman Forum A forum (Latin: ''forum'', "public place outdoors", : ''fora''; English : either ''fora'' or ''forums'') was a public square in a municipium, or any civitas, of Ancient Rome reserved primarily for the vending of goods; i.e., a marketplace, alon ...
, where Hortensia delivered her famous speech. The second-century Greek historian
Appian Appian of Alexandria (; ; ; ) was a Greek historian with Roman citizenship who prospered during the reigns of the Roman Emperors Trajan, Hadrian, and Antoninus Pius. He was born c. 95 in Alexandria. After holding the senior offices in the pr ...
documented Hortensia's speech. Though the words are not exactly hers, Appian's translation carries the themes of Hortensia:
''"You have already deprived us of our fathers, our sons, our husbands, and our brothers, whom you accused of having wronged you; if you take away our property also, you reduce us to a condition unbecoming our birth, our manners, our sex. Why should we pay taxes when we have no part in the honours, the commands, the state-craft, for which you contend against each other with such harmful results? 'Because this is a time of war,' do you say? When have there not been wars, and when have taxes ever been imposed on women, who are exempted by their sex among all mankind?"''
Hortensia also questioned the double standard of taxing women but excluding them from public office. Appian quoted Hortensia, stating, "Why should we pay taxes when we do not share in the offices, honours, military commands, nor, in short, the government for which you fight between yourselves with such harmful results?"


Impact of the speech

Outraged at having had their authority challenged by a group of women, Octavian, Antony, and Lepidus tried unsuccessfully to dismiss the women from the
rostra The Rostra () was a large platform built in the city of Rome that stood during the republican and imperial periods. Speakers would stand on the rostra and face the north side of the Comitium towards the senate house and deliver orations to t ...
. The next day, the three men reduced the number of women subject to the tax to 400, and instead, compensated for the loss of revenue by forcing male property-owners to lend money to the state and contribute to war expenses.


Praise

Hortensia's speech was later praised by contemporaries as the embodiment of the nuanced oratory technique for which her father had been known. Of this, Valerius Maximus wrote:
''"For by bringing back her father's eloquence, she brought about the remission of the greater part of the tax. Quintus Hortensius lived again in the female line and breathed through his daughter's words."''Valerius Maximus ''Memorable Doings and Sayings'' 8.3.3


In popular culture

Hortensia is the main character and subject of the 2016 novel '' Rivals of the Republic'' by
Annelise Freisenbruch Anneliese (, ) is a female given name of either German, Dutch or Nordic origin. It is a compound form of "Anna" and "Liese", a short form of " Elisabeth". It may refer to: * Anneliese Augustin (1930–2021), German politician * Anneliese Bauer, ...
.


Footnotes


References


Primary sources

*
Valerius Maximus Valerius Maximus () was a 1st-century Latin writer and author of a collection of historical anecdotes: ' ("Nine books of memorable deeds and sayings", also known as ''De factis dictisque memorabilibus'' or ''Facta et dicta memorabilia''). He worke ...
, ''Factorum et dictorum memorabilium libri viii.3.3''


Secondary sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hortensia (Orator) Hortensii 1st-century BC Roman women 1st-century BC Romans Women in politics Women activists Women's rights activists