The Bona Dea Cult

Abstract: This essay concern the Bona Dea cult and women in the Roman Republic. By using ancient literary sources and inscriptions the different aspects of the cult is examined from a gender and an intersectional perspective. The essay covers the lives and rights of Roman women, their role in religion in general and how they participated in the Bona Dea cult specifically. The aim of the study is to understand the importance of the cult for women, freedmen and slaves, as well as analysing the paradox of letting women participate in rituals and customs otherwise forbidden to them.