Lex Oppia
Quick Summary
The Lex Oppia was a Roman law passed in 215 BCE during the Second Punic War. It was a sumptuary law that restricted the amount of gold and the richness of clothing women were allowed to wear. The law was enacted to address the financial crisis Rome faced during the war.1
While the law aimed to curb extravagance, it was repealed in 195 BCE after the war, despite protests from figures like Cato the Censor. The debate over its repeal highlighted differing views on luxury and social change in Rome. The Lex Oppia is an example of Roman attempts to regulate personal consumption through legislation.1
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dressSumptuary laws…under the Roman Republic, the Lex Oppia, was enacted in 215 bce; it ruled that women could not wear more than half an ounce of gold upon their persons and that their tunics should not be in different colours. Most Roman sumptuary laws tried to control spending on funerals, banquets,…
Read More…under the Roman Republic, the Lex Oppia, was enacted in 215 bce; it ruled that women could not wear more than half an ounce of gold upon their persons and that their tunics should not be in different colours. Most Roman sumptuary laws tried to control spending on funerals, banquets,…
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ancient RomeCulture and religion…the Second Punic War the Oppian law (215) was passed to meet the financial crisis by restricting the jewelry and clothing women were allowed to wear; in 195, after the crisis, the law was repealed despite Cato’s protests. Later sumptuary laws were motivated not by military crisis but by a…
Read More…the Second Punic War the Oppian law (215) was passed to meet the financial crisis by restricting the jewelry and clothing women were allowed to wear; in 195, after the crisis, the law was repealed despite Cato’s protests. Later sumptuary laws were motivated not by military crisis but by a…
Read More