The Roman Lex Oppia: How a Sumptuary Law Sparked a Women's Revolt

The Story of Italy: Rome, Renaissance, and the Birth of Modern Europe — Fexingo History · Jun 13, 2026 · 6m · transcript

In 215 BCE, at the height of the Second Punic War, Rome passed the Lex Oppia — a sumptuary law restricting women's display of gold, jewelry, and fancy clothing. Twenty years later, with Hannibal defeated and the treasury full, Roman women took to the streets to demand its repeal. The resulting debate, recorded by the historian Livy, pitted the stern traditionalist Cato the Elder against the tribune Lucius Valerius, who argued that women's adornment was a legitimate expression of their new wealth and status. This episode unpacks the political and social context of sumptuary laws in…