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

How did the Greeks and Romans perceive rape? How seriously was it taken, and who were seen as its main victims? The classical scholars who have contributed to this volume look at social and legal realities of rape in the ancient world, and also at the numerous myths of rape which themselves may reflect real behaviour and attitudes.

Modern readers, used to a discourse which focuses on the question of a woman’s (or man’s) consent to sexual activity and treats an unwilling partner as a victim worthy of sympathy, may find in ancient attitudes much that is disturbing. The twelve chapters in Rape in Antiquity cover topics ranged under six main headings: Athenian legal discourse; Greek myth; Greek art; Greek and Roman drama; Greek and Roman historiography; and Byzantine and Western medieval worlds. This first paperback edition of the book includes a new Preface by the editors bringing the volume up to date with the most recent scholarly developments.

Contributors: Karim Arafat, James Arieti, Lucy Byrne, Susan Deacy, Thomas Harrison, Keith Hopwood, Martin Kilmer, Daniel Ogden, Rosanna Omitowoju, Karen F. Pierce, James Robson and Corinne Saunders.

Susan Deacy is Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Manchester, UK.
Karen F. Pierce currently works for the University of Wales, College of Medicine, UK.