The English word “rape” comes from the Latin verb “rapere” meaning to (violently) seize and carry off. The same Latin root gives us the English word “rapid”. The Latin term may often connote sexual violence, but it is not its first meaning which emphasizes the taking (rather than say penetration) and can often be used of (other) possessions that are plundered or stolen. Often classicists have used the term ‘rape’ in a rather antiquated fashion to mean the seizure of a woman rather than the act of sexual violence itself. The two are obviously related but the common use of the term in accounts of Greek and Roman myth is related to the etymology. It also means that for many classicists rape is a common place term for which the violent connotations of the English term may (wrongly!) slip away and end up discussed in a minimizing fashion. The field is still struggling to overcome this minimization.
While modern discourse on rape often centers on consent and violation of the rights of the victim, the ancient discourse tends to center on the transgression of the rights of the custodial male–father, husband, or enslaver–depending on context. As we saw in the Lysias 1, “A Husband’s Defense”, from the Engendered Space Unit, the seducer is still a rapist, but one who has stolen the mind as well as the body and thus one who has transgressed to an even greater extent than those who rape by force alone. Likewise, recall how in Xenophon’s Symposium lovers who convinced their beloveds to submit to penetrative sex are seen as corrupting their minds.
Non-consensual sex was the norm in the ancient world, and remains such in parts of the world and was so until extremely recently. Until Martial Rape (sometimes called spousal rape) was criminalized, wives had no right to reject the sexual advances of their husbands. Still today in South Carolina non-consensual sex in marriage is not consider rape unless ‘excessive’ force or violence is used. Consensual sex as it is widely understood today cannot exist within vast the power differentials which existed in the typical sexual relationships of antiquity, especially with regard enslavement and or even within the conditional forms of legal ‘liberation’ given by some enslavers to some of their enslaved.
To better understand concepts of consent, non-consent, rejection of sexual advances, and sexual violence in antiquity we will focus on two narratives the first from Classical Athens and the second from Augustan Rome.
Update 7-7-21: A Twitter Thread of Relevance on the language of consent and non-consent.
Hephaestus and Athena
You already know this myth but you might not think you do. Think back to the Pandora Unit. I know it seems like forever but it wasn’t that long ago. Remember those pots depicting the birth of Erechtheus: Gaia hands a baby to Athena while Hephaestus looks on? If not, go refresh your memory now.
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Right, so Hephaestus attempts to rape Athena. Fails. BUT ejaculates on her thigh. Disgusting? YES. Athena wipes it off with some handy wool (remember she’s a goddess of craft so obviously she has some handy) and drops it on the ground. Gaia (= earth goddess) incubates that stuff and voila! Athena gets to kinda sorta be “mom” to the Athenians via their descent from Erechtheus (that kid) and the Athenians get to claim to be sprung from the very land of Attica–autochthonous is the vocab term.
So what does it mean that Athena suffered a rape attempt BUT wasn’t raped? How is that story culturally relevant. The follow article tries to explore that.
Deacy – The Vulnerability of Athena – pdf for annotation
The above article was written at the very beginning of Prof. Deacy’s career nearly 25 years ago and in fact came out of her graduate work. She is now one of the leading authorities on rape and sexual violence in the ancient world. Most recently she’s been writing about how evolutionary psychology can help us think about the past and the literature of the past in new ways. This next reading is a short piece explaining the thinking and how it might apply to Zeus.
Deacy – Unpublished Talk – pdf for annotation
Deacy – Unpublished Talk – as made publicly available by the author
The above pot is the only one visual I know of depicting the rape attempt itself. We already saw in the Pandora unit representations of the ‘effects’, that is the Erechtheus’ birth. We do have the two gods in proximity in art in way that MIGHT have been read by some audiences as referring to the assault. In other myths it is the smith god who is Athena’s “midwife” opening’ Zeus’ head to release her and also remember how they are shown creating Pandora together in some instances.
Foundational Violence at Rome
We’ve been spending most of our time in classical Athens. We’ve spent a little time earlier but our geography range has been restricted. Rome is a whole new kettle of fish. Rome was a city that prided itself on militarism and religiosity and used those tools to gain control the Mediterranean and surrounding territories. The major expansions happened under the republic a period before Julius Caesar and after the proto-historic period of kings. The conquered Greece and were deeply aware of an influenced by Greek culture and happily appropriated it and deployed it for their own purposes. Generally speaking in terms of gender Roman women did not have an ideal of seclusion, but still of modesty–pudicitia is the name for that trademark feminine virtue.
This piece of scholarship is over 25 years old BUT it for ever changed the field of classics and showed that feminist readings could bring new interpretations of well known material.
Joshel – Foundational Narratives – pdf for annotation
Joshel’s approach is very textual. The Romans did develop a visual tradition around a foundational rape, that of Rhea Silvia by the god Mars which produces Romulus and Remus [Discussed in the Video Lecture! — See BlackBoard]. But the Romans were NOT interested in representing (at least in surviving media) Lucretia or Verginia. Instead, it is later renaissance artists that are obsessed with these stories typically to allow them a ‘reason’ to depict nudity and suggest sexual content with a ‘moralizing’ purpose.
Gender & Sexuality 
