Looking at just the two sarcophagus that we have seen this week, the women in these are depicting slightly differently from previous art. I am considering Ancient Greek art, where women would be beside and slightly behind the rulers; or even in earlier Greek art, where the focus on women seemed to be more individual, and not in relation to a man. In these two artworks, the women are besides their men and the men are holding them. There seems to be more focus on the woman as an equal and emotionally significant to the man. This also shows a different side of men, instead of the heroes or strong conquerors, these are husbands who care for their wives. That is quite the remarkable contrast.
I even thought that it was interesting to see the Capitoline She-Wolf. This is such a maternal image. She is obviously feral, but the feeling I get from her is that she would defend her children to death. There also seems to be a strong leader in this motherly image, which speaks much for the expectations of a mother.
In short, I think that the role of the woman has shifted from a supportive figure in the background of men or a sensual figure that is decorative, to an equal and significant person to men. The role of women has shifted towards a maternal, caring, and loving figure.