Julia* was born in the second century AD in the Roman province of Upper Moesia, in the town of Singidunum - today's Belgrade.
She is twelve years old, and in her world that is the time for engagement.
They will get married between the ages of 13 and 14.
He lives on the right bank of the Danube, in an urban settlement that sprung up around a military camp.
Along the bank of the river, where today is the promenade leading from Dorćolski Quay to Ada Gypsy, stretches the Roman military border.
"Archaeological material is the only relevant source on the basis of which we can talk about military camps and the settlements next to them, but unfortunately it provides little information about women," says Deana Ratković, curator of the National Museum in Belgrade, for the BBC in Serbian.
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Nevertheless, some objects that archaeologists found in the Balkans allow to somewhat reconstruct the everyday life of women who lived on the soil of the Roman provinces.
Some of these objects, which were used between the third century BC and the fourth century AD, can be seen in the National Museum as part of the exhibition Femina Balcanica - Women in the Balkans in ancient times, which runs until August 28, 2022.
Julia's world
Julia has never been outside Singidunum - its borders are also the borders of her world.
That's why this twelve-year-old often travels in her imagination.
She had heard that if you mounted a horse and rode south for days, you could reach other Roman cities.
At night, when everyone goes to sleep, Julija lies awake for a long time and imagines places she knows only by name - Viminacium (around Požarevac), Remezijana (Bela Palanka) and Ulpiana (Gračanica).
Upper Moesia, the province where she was born, includes today's Serbia without Vojvodina, part of northwestern Bulgaria and the northern parts of North Macedonia.
In Singidunum, Alexandra's neighbors are mostly military veterans and merchants - just like her father, who trades in luxury silverware.
'Free'
Julija was lucky to be born into a well-to-do family, as a free citizen.
This means that when he grows up, he will be able to own property, run a private business and participate in charitable activities.
However, her freedom is relative - it is decided by men.
"A woman's life basically took place in the family (family), with considerable restrictions on freedom," says Ratković.
The family meant a wider community, which, in addition to the circle of relatives, also included slaves.
The woman was first under the authority of the father (pater familias), and later his wife (manus).
By marrying, she became the mistress of the house (mater familias), but without major rights.
Ratković adds that women from the upper class were protected by rights that regulated family life.
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However, members of the middle class, slaves and freed women (women who freed themselves from slavery) had a completely different fate.
Wives and daughters were subordinated to fathers and husbands in the period of the Republic, while in the period of the Roman Empire they received greater rights, says Ratković.
The Roman Republic existed from the sixth to the first century BC.
Then comes the period of the Roman Empire until 457, when Rome fell into the hands of Germanic tribes.
Girl, girl, woman
Growing up, Julija mostly spent time with her family, with her parents and relatives.
Just like her brothers, as a girl she learned to write, read and count in a public school.
However, when she turned 11, she had to continue her education from home.
Her wealthy parents pay for a private tutor, with whom she masters rhetoric, history and mythology.
But, in the environment where she lives, education is secondary for women - the most important thing is to realize themselves as mothers.
The twelfth birthday was a big turning point in Julia's life, because she is no longer considered a girl, but a marriageable girl.
And that was already arranged - the parents made a marriage contract before Julia learned to speak.
He already has a gold engagement ring engraved with a man and a woman shaking hands.
As he watches it shine on her hand, he remembers the engagement - the overly tight squeeze as she shook hands with her future husband.
"The newlyweds shaking hands with the right hand was an integral part of the engagement ceremony, and it signified the confirmation of the agreement," explains Ratković.
Julia's older sister has a slightly different engagement ring, with an engraving of two clasped hands.
Wedding - tunic, braids and tiara of flowers
Julia sometimes sits at the window and imagines how the wedding will be.
He will wear a simple, white tunic, and around his waist a woolen belt tied in a Herculean knot.
She will have a beautiful hairstyle - her hair will be tied in six braids and secured with a red ribbon.
He is most looking forward to having a crown on his head (corona) - a wreath of picked flowers and leaves, symbolizing fertility.
When they brush her hair, they will put a bright yellow veil on her.
Makeup and hair
The hairstyle was a symbol of status, but also of femininity and represented the sensuality of a woman, says Ratković.
Care was taken to care for the hair, which was fashioned into complex hairstyles.
"The higher the position of the woman, the more complex the hairstyle," he explains.
The hairstyles of empresses and other members of the imperial family were copied throughout the Roman Empire.
Women used scented oils and perfumes that were kept in glass bottles, toiletries for making hairstyles - mirrors, decorative pins and tiaras.
The wedding will take place in front of priests and ten witnesses.
Since Julia comes from a rich family, the main part of the ceremony will be a sacrifice to the Roman god Jupiter, in the form of barley cakes.
Jupiter was considered the supreme god - the protector of justice and truth, and he was associated with the sky, lightning and thunder.
If she was born in a poor family, her father would sell her to her husband with a fictitious contract.
The wedding ceremony will end with the bride entering her new home.
"Marriage was a kind of business agreement, whereby the girl's status changed completely and her role in raising children began," says Ratković.
When she gets married, that will be Julia's main concern.
He already has an inkling of what childbirth looks like, because they had it in the house - the midwives come and order the children to go outside.
But she doesn't know what the act itself looks like, because she only had the chance to see the baby when it was all over.
He imagines a woman's navel opening, until it is wide enough for a child to come out, and wonders if children make it inside.
What jobs could women do?
Julia will be able to work, if her husband allows her.
She would like to have her own property and run a private business on it.
She loves horses and would like to have a property where she can look after them, and on it a workshop for the production of horse equipment, for example saddlebags and horseshoes.
Women from the lower and middle classes were most often midwives, nurses, scribes, secretaries, and less often actresses, acrobats and dancers, says Ratković.
One of the most sought-after professions among women was nursing.
"Both slaves and free women could do that work," says the curator.
All women were forbidden to engage in politics, he adds.
But there was one public job that women in Rome could still do.
"They could have become priestesses, guardians of shrines and customs," says Ratković.
He explains that "the most sacred duty of a Roman woman was joining the order of Vestal women, priestesses of the goddess Vesta".
Vesta was considered the protector of the hearth, household, family and city.
Girls became vestals between the ages of six and ten.
Their main task was to preserve the state fire on the hearth, in the temple at the eastern end of the Roman Forum.
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In ancient times, women could also play music.
"The Greek philosophers Aristotle and Plato also mentioned women who played the tibia or aulos and who could be employed at feasts and other celebrations," says Ratković.
The tibia is a type of flute, and the aulos is a wind instrument considered the forerunner of the oboe.
With Venus in the afterlife
While sitting at the window after lunch on a summer afternoon, Aleksandra tries not to think about death.
It scares her.
Ratković states that traces of the burial of women in the area of present-day Serbia were found in several necropolises, and some of them are Viminacium near Požarevac and Gomilica near Mount Kosmaj.
Objects such as jewelry and mirrors were found in women's graves, which "symbolized beauty and happiness in marriage".
Ratković adds that figurines of the goddess Venus and figurines of a quail - an animal that was associated with this goddess - were found in two graves in Gomilice.
Venus is the Roman goddess of love, fertility and prosperity.
"It is believed to be the grave of a young girl, because the Romans believed that Venus of the Underworld figurines protect the souls of girls who died prematurely, symbolically embodying the idea of love in both worlds," says Ratković.
*Character It's Julius invented for the needs of the text in collaboration with Deana Ratković, curatorby kin National MuseumOf Serbia
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