Revisiting Rape in Antiquity: Sexualized Violence in Greek and Roman Worlds

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How did the Greeks and Romans perceive rape? How seriously was it taken, and who were seen as its main victims? These are two central questions that Rape in Antiquity: Sexual Violence in the Greek and Roman Worlds (1997), edited by Susan Deacy and Karen F. Pierce, aimed to approach in twelve chapters. Setting out to understand if the ancients had a concept of rape and how it was understood through different angles – including legal, social, cultural and historiographical – Rape in Antiquity made an invaluable contribution to the scholarship on sexual violence in the ancient world, impacting upon the development of new approaches in the decades that followed its publication. Revisiting Rape in Antiquity: Sexualised Violence in Greek and Roman Worlds maps out the influence of Rape in Antiquity while exploring how far cultural changes since the 1990s have reshaped the scholarly landscape. This collection, comprising chapters by established scholars and early career researchers from many countries, provides a new window into sexual – and sexualized – violence. Covering a long chronology, this book journeys from Homer to Byzantium, to modern receptions, to the analysis of wartime rape, ancient Greek tragedy, classical myth, how stories involving rape are retold for children, ancient law and rhetoric, classical art, Ovid, Late Antiquity, modern literature, comic books and cinema. This book is the culmination of a rich scholarly inheritance, setting out new perspectives that will hopefully inspire researchers for decades to come. Cover Halftitle page Series page Title page Copyright page Dedication CONTENTS FIGURES CONTRIBUTORS PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS INTRODUCTION: ‘TWENTY YEARS AGO’: REVISITING RAPE IN ANTIQUITY Susan Deacy Revisiting rape in antiquity and Rape in Antiquity ‘Greater than the sum of its parts’11: The scope of this book Pulling threads Notes Bibliography PART 1 WHY ARE WE STILL READING RAPES? CHAPTER 1 SYMPATHY FOR THE VICTIMS OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN GREEK SOCIETY AND LITERATURE Edward M. Harris Notes Bibliography CHAPTER 2 WHY ARE WE STILL READING OVID’S RAPES? Holly Ranger Notes Bibliography CHAPTER 3 WOMEN WHO PUNISH OTHER WOMEN: RAPE AND INFIDELITY IN RETELLINGS FOR CHILDREN OF THE GREEK MYTH OF IO AND HERA Robin Diver Turning rape into consent – morality concerns Ancient sources ‘Just friends’ Sexual double standards and jealous wives Infidelity: A divine comedy Conclusion Notes Bibliography PART 2 VICTIMS AND SURVIVORS CHAPTER 4 THE RAPE OF BOYS IN ANCIENT ATHENS José Malheiro Magalhães1 Aeschines and the Athenian legislation for the protection of boys Age Ancient Greek law of statutory rape? Notes Bibliography CHAPTER 5 THE RAPE OF CHRYSIPPUS Nuno Simões Rodrigues1 The myth Euripides’ Chrysippus The ambiguity in Chrysippus and the iconographic evidence Notes Bibliography CHAPTER 6 SHAME ON WHOM? CHANGING CLERICAL VIEWS ON RAPED WOMEN IN LATE ANTIQUITY Ulriika Vihervalli1 Late fourth-century rape narratives Augustine’s revisions Leo and the status of raped women Conclusion: Shame on whom? Notes Bibliography PART 3 CRITIQUING ‘A SERIES OF EROTIC PURSUITS’ CHAPTER 7 ‘SIMULATED’ PURSUIT SCENES ON RED-FIGURE POTTERY: AN ICONOGRAPHIC RECONTEXTUALIZATION Marco Serino Introduction Pursuit scene on red-figure pottery: A general overview The workshop of the Himera Painter The archaeological context and its contribution to the new iconographic interpretation Notes Bibliography CHAPTER 8 CHANGING FASHIONS IN THE VISUAL DEPICTION OF SEXUAL PURSUIT IN CLASSICAL ATHENS Robin Osborne Introduction The history of sexual violence on Athenian painted pottery3 Explaining the changes Conclusion: Sexual pursuit and rape in antiquity Notes Bibliography CHAPTER 9 FIFTY SHADES OF RAPE: EROTIC PURSUIT AND ABDUCTION IN ATHENIAN VASE-PAINTING Viktoria Räuchle Much ink about nothing? Pots, plots and players An Athenian rape joke? Ring a ring o’ Eros Conclusion Notes Bibliography PART 4 CONSTRUCTING RAPE AND SEXUAL(IZED) VIOLENCE CHAPTER 10 REVISITING THE VULNERABILITY OF ATHENA: RAPE, SEXUAL CONFLICT AND THE ‘MYTH INSTINCT’ Susan Deacy1 Athena and ‘how rape is constructed’ Athena and the ‘myth instinct’ Hephaistos, Athena and female mate choice Conclusions: The reassuring Athena revisited Notes Bibliography CHAPTER 11 SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN THE FEMALE MARTYRDOMS OF THE SIXTH-CENTURY BYZANTINE EAST: FEBRONIA AND MAHYA Elisa Groff1 Revisiting the female sexual and reproductive body in context How is sexual violence defi ned? Feminist approach to ancient sources Sixth-century female martyrdoms as narratives of sexual violence and mutilation Febronia Mahya Religious narratives of sexual violence in Late Antiquity: A résumé Conclusions Notes Bibliography CHAPTER 12 SOROROPHOBIA IN OVID Melissa Marturano Introduction Sororophobia Sororophobia and resistance Ovid’s (lack of) sympathy Conclusion Notes Bibliography PART 5 CODED RAPES: NOW AND THEN CHAPTER 13 WHY CENTAURS DO NOT RAPE ANYMORE? LOOKING FOR SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN CONTEMPORARY CHILDREN’S AND YOUNG ADULT CULTURE INSPIRED BY CLASSICAL ANTIQUITY Anna Mik1 Mythological origins: Violent hybrids and wise Chirons Arcadian animation and oppressed centaurides Children’s literature and proud hybrids Postmodern centaurs – beyond antiquity Notes Bibliography CHAPTER 14 SEX, VIOLENCE AND GRAPHICS: ILLUSTRATING HELEN Karen F. Pierce1 Notes Bibliography CHAPTER 15 WARFARE, VIOLENCE, RAPE, REVENGE: JANE HOLLAND’S BOUDICCA & CO.1 Marguerite Johnson Jane Holland’s Boudicca & Co. The Boudicca series Holland, Tacitus and Cassius Dio Holland and Ovid Classical reception, violence and rape Notes Bibliography CHAPTER 16 RAPE AND RHETORIC DURING THE ATHENIAN DEMOCRACY Jean Zacharski Menzies Notes Bibliography INDEX