Introduction: Women in Public Life in Republican Rome.

This special issue focuses on the roles of women in republican Rome through the lens of spatial presence, religious participation, and social influence. Drawing on diverse sources, the articles demonstrate that women of varying statuses were active in public life—engaging in political discussions, owning property, performing religious rituals, and participating visibly in communal events across the city. The contributors emphasize that Roman public and private spheres were interconnected, with women's involvement in domestic and sacred spaces contributing significantly to political and social processes. The volume also highlights the complexity of women's influence, shaped by factors such as status, age, and ritual roles, and calls for more nuanced, gender-inclusive approaches to Roman history that avoid anachronistic distinctions between public and private or religious and political domains.