La fama nell’ordinamento romano. I casi di Afrania e di Lucrezia

The article starts from an examination of statutory and pretorian law on the legal elements of infamia and ignominia. In this context it sheds light on the influence of the censor’s control activity on the social and legal phenomenon of fama. The results thus obtained are verified by the analysis of two types of women, Afrania and Lucretia, both actors and, although in different ways, “victims” of their own fama. However, while Afrania remains a prisoner of the mechanism of fama, Lucretia is able to use it successfully.