2003/02/27 by Thomas A. J. McGinn · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Citizenship #Classical Antiquity Studies #Classical Studies and Legal History #Law #Legal principles and applications #Political science #Politics #Sociology
paper · doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195161328.003.0002
openalex publication_date 2003/02/27 · openalex created_date 2022/05/12 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
Abstract The disabilities that were imposed on prostitutes and pimps constitute infringements on their rights and their standing as Roman citizens. This chapter examines a segment of these: disabilities relating to political and social life, on the one hand, and to the operation of the courts, on the other. Citizenship is an ambiguous concept, one of whose basic functions is to discriminate. Like many such definitions ancient and modern, that of Roman citizenship was informed by certain criteria that excluded individuals from the category that it defined. The definition is of necessity complicated by the fact that, once the dividing line between citizen and non-citizen was drawn, the definition did not stop there but articulated a range of differences on the citizen side of the line.