The Romans. Those bastards. It's all their fault:
Research coordinated by Carlos III University in Madrid (UC3M) analyzes the images of women in Roman mosaics and their impact on the collective consciousness of feminine stereotypes. In many cases, the research concludes, the images pointed to the female as the cause of wars and other evils.
Read more at History of the Ancient World.
I'm guessing they didn't have this kind of thing in mind:
Wikimedia Commons
It's from the Villa Romana del Casale, early 4th century. You should go look at the other photos.
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