The Romans consistently restricted most elite offices to men. All military positions, magistracies, enrollment in the Senate, and so on, allowed only men. Nevertheless, elite political activity was always intertwined with familial relationships, and women of powerful families could be formidable in their own right. Indeed, several women played powerful roles at key turning points in Roman history. For nonelite occupations, the division of. roles between gender might vary. For example, in the honorable professions associated with agriculture, women worked alongside men even in management positions. In their guides to farming, Varro and Columella recommend women in part because the women make the men work better! Other professions, sailing for example, were certainly exclusive to men. Working women are known in scattered jobs, but often historians cannot know whether or how many women worked at certain kinds of jobs. A...