Customer Reviews

Rape in Antiquity: Sexual Violence in the Greek and Roman Worlds

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This slim volume contains twelve essays on rape and related subjects. Don't be fooled by the inclusiveness of the title, however: scholarly works are rarely that broad, and most of these essays deal directly with Classical Athens, moving to Rome only in a few essays, and actually including Byzantium and the Middle Ages, as well. Some of the works are incredibly insightful and paradigm-building; others are horribly written but contain a few pearls, if one is willing to sift through the despair of an English teacher. My personal favourites were the essays by Deacy, Kilmer, Pierce, and Arieti, with a favourable mention for Saunders. Deacy looks into Athena and how she characterized the unmarried (rapeable) virgin; Kilmer focuses on red-figure pottery and its errotic scenery, quite shocking!; Pierce sends us through the New Comedies for a look at the grostesquely amusing; and Arieti not only falls into the nuances of Livy and his portrayal of rape, but introduces a worldview that definitely provokes thought.

This book is not for the faint-hearted. Some of the portrayals are shocking to the modern mind in how ancients react to them. There are some explicit pictures in Kilmer's article, and all of them deal with a very combustable topic: rape. Nonetheless, if you're interested in womens' studies, the nuances of Ancient Greek, or even law and the philosophy of law through time, this is a book you won't want to miss.