Rape is as topical as ever. Not only do such issues as date rape and marital rape continue to generate debate (see, e.g., Bergen 1996, Cowling 1999), but the very definition of rape is being called into question. Which acts, for example, should constitute rape: only, as is presently the case in England and Wales, the penetration by the penis of the vagina or (since 1994) the anus, or the penetration of other parts of the body? What is more, consent is generally taken as key in defining rape, yet legal definitions of consent tend to be characterised by their imprecision (see Temkin 2000, 187–9). Renewed interest is also being shown in the history of the topic. For example, several monographs have recently been published, notably those by Wolfthal (1999), and by two of the contributors to Rape in Antiquity: Saunders (2001) and Omitowoju (2002).
In such a climate, we are delighted to see Rape in Antiquity available in paperback. We have been increasingly struck by the extent to which the issues dealt with in the book remain pertinent in the early twenty- first century. Furthermore, it now seems timely, several years after the volume was first published, to look back at the scholarly environment that gave rise to it, when, at a more affordable price, the book will be accessible to a wider readership. Even more than we realised, ancient rape was something of a ‘hot’ topic in the mid to late 1990s, and several works came out either close to ours, or not long afterwards (including Stewart 1995, Osborne 1996, James 1998). This Preface replaces that of the original edition, and draws on some of the main issues dealt with in it.
The volume was produced at a time of particular interest in aspects of gender and sexuality in the ancient world. Several notable conferences and seminar series had recently taken place, not least ‘The Sacred and the Feminine in Ancient Greece’, held in London in 1993, and ‘Women in Antiquity: New Assessments’, held at Oxford in the same year, and itself stemming from a long-running seminar. The main strengths of these events lay, firstly, in their inclusiveness, in that scholars from a variety of fields were assembled in order to address the issues from a wide range of angles, and secondly, in their concern with breaking new ground. (See Blundell and Williamson 1998, Hawley and Levick 1995.) Following events such as these, in early 1994 we began to plan a conference that would advance scholarship in another area of ancient history and classical studies, namely rape and sexual violence. This was a topic on which surprisingly little research had been done until then. Several important studies had been published (e.g. Zeitlin 1986, Cole 1989, Harris 1990, Richlin 1991, Lefkowitz 1993), but fewer than might have been expected in view of the growing body of work on ancient sexuality and gender on the one hand, and the large amount of scholarship on the topic of rape in general on the other, especially since the publication of Susan Brownmiller’s highly influential study in 1975. As one of our reviewers noted (Davidson 2000, 533), ancient rape had been a ‘neglected issue’.
The conference, ‘Violence and Power: An International Symposium on Rape in Antiquity’, was held in Cardiff in November 1994. Adiverse range of scholars was assembled, united by a common interest in issues of sexual violence. This provided scope for the consideration of a number of parallel and overlapping questions, such as: What was the relationship between the numerous myths of rape and the social reality from which they derived? Against whom was rape deemed to be a crime? What was the perceived relationship between consent and coercion? The symposium revealed that the study of the subject offered scope for refinement of our understanding of ancient perceptions, attitudes and experiences.
Scholarship on ancient women and gender has tended to take the form of edited volumes rather than single-authored monographs, one of the advantages of this approach being the encouragement of a multiplicity of voices rather than a single authorial view. It seemed to us that the study of rape, of all issues, would benefit from such diversity. Not only had nothing like this study been published before, but important shifts had begun to take place in scholarship. Earlier work on rape had tended to adopt what now seems a somewhat rigid, and–perhaps–over-simple, approach, with rape mainly viewed as a universal factor central to human existence (for a detailed survey, see Omitowoju 2002). By the mid-1990s, however, a more open approach was being taken, informed by an awareness of cultural relativism. It was recognised that, far from always having had the same underlying set of meanings, perceptions and definitions of rape vary from culture to culture, and even within particular cultures.
In line with these developments, this book examines a range of aspects of rape and sexual violence. Central to the volume is the search for acts that can be classified as rape, and the question of the definition of the concept. Each contributor is mindful of the complexities of the topic, and care is taken to avoid imposing potentially misleading modern definitions upon the ancient evidence. The book begins with an examination of two issues that arise from one of the most important sources, Athenian legal material: the status of the victim and the perpetrator (Omitowoju), and the desire to avoid polluting the all- important institution of the oikos with illegitimate children (Ogden). If we expect to find consent or the lack of it a primary concern, we risk surprise, for this was accorded rather less emphasis than such factors as the desire to protect bloodlines.
The next section considers Greek myth. As Deacy shows, even the self-reliant Athena is exposed to male sexual violence in a manner comparable to the many young women who suffer sexual violence at the hands of gods. The next chapter, that of Robson, focuses on some of these women, who encounter rape when they or their rapist have been transformed into animals. Via a discussion of topics as diverse as Native American hunting tradition and modern bestial pornography, Robson argues that the stories served important didactic functions, not least those of showing men and women the kinds of sexual behaviour that were suitable or otherwise. In the third section, devoted to Athenian vase painting, Arafat examines a motif which has already been introduced in section 2, that of males (often gods) pursuing females. His focus is on the vital political importance of many of these scenes. Zeus’ pursuit of Aegina, for example, equates with the Athenian capture of the island of that name. Kilmer’s essay then shifts discussion from political elements to erotic ones. In his quest for scenes that might be termed ‘rape’, he raises many key questions for future scholarship. Why, for example, do so many scenes depict pursuit but not what followed? Where does (say) abduction stop and rape begin?
From art we turn to literature. In the first of two chapters on drama, Byrne identifies some surprising interactions between rape, marriage and death in Aeschylus’ Seven Against Thebes, and demonstrates that the killing of Oedipus’ son Eteocles by his brother Polyneices has connotations of marriage and rape, with Polyneices cast in the role of bridegroom/violator. As Pierce then demonstrates, rape and marriage also come into close association in New Comedy, where, in a common plot device, young women are raped before they are married, often at festivals. In a way that may shock modern audiences, rape ceases to be an offence when the rapist subsequently marries his victim.
Two chapters on historiography follow. Harrison examines acts that might be defined as rape in Herodotos. Status once again emerges as a crucial factor: the term, it seems, only applied when the perpetrator was of lower rank than the victim. Harrison thus suggests that the key distinction was not, as for us, between rape and non-rape, but between different types of rape. The next chapter (that of Arieti) considers the work of another historian, Livy, and asks why it was that rape played a central historical role in his work. The answer provided is that Livy sought to transform rape into a congenial act that might be vindicated on philosophical grounds. The volume concludes with two chapters on the Byzantine world and the Middle Ages. Taking up earlier discussions on the relationship of rape and marriage, Hopwood looks at politically motivated marriages between Byzantine princesses and Turkish rulers, while Saunders focuses on medieval reworkings of ‘classical paradigms’, notably the stories of Lucretia and Philomela. This chapter brings the book to a close with a study of the ways in which classical notions of rape, complex though they themselves were, came to influence medieval literature and legislation.
Like the chapters in this book, subsequent scholarship has continued to be informed by an awareness of problems of definition and interpretation. For example, Omitowoju’s monograph on rape in Athenian oratory and elsewhere takes modern definitions as a starting point, but with a recognition that sexual acts that we term ‘rape’ would not necessarily have been viewed as such in antiquity. Meanwhile, Wolfthal’s examination of rape imagery of the medieval and early modern periods stresses that there was no single view of rape but rather that it was presented differently in different contexts. Indeed, Wolfthal writes that, far from attempting a chronological study, her book consists of ‘fragments of a history of rape’ (1999, 5). Perhaps this is all that can realistically be written at this stage in scholarship.
There is scope, then, for further investigation. Ancient definitions need to be explored further, especially in the light of modern interpretations of ancient evidence, and recent theoretical approaches. This should lead to an enhanced understanding of the ‘boundaries’ of rape, and its relationship with such terms as seduction, abduction and marriage. Moreover, scholarship has tended to focus thus far upon the rape of (especially young) women rather than on homosexual rape, although not exclusively: see e.g. Omitowoju and Kilmer in the volume. The evidence for homosexual rape now merits greater study in its own right. Also to be welcomed would be further examination of ancient societies other than Greece and Rome, both as topics of intrinsic interest, and because of their scope for shedding light on the peculiarities of the Greco-Roman material. Ancient rape is far from being a ‘neglected issue’ any longer, but at the same time, the topic is one of rich potential.
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It has not been possible for substantial changes to be made to the pages that follow. The bibliography below includes items of relevance to particular chapters, and to the topic more generally, that have appeared since the publication of the first edition. It should be noted that, since 1997, several contributors have moved institutions: Deacy (University of Manchester), Robson (Open University, U.K.), Byrne (University of Leicester), Pierce (University of Wales College of Medicine), Harrison (University of St Andrews) and Saunders (University of Durham).
We are pleased to offer our thanks once again to the many friends and colleagues who gave us assistance with the conference, and with the original edition of this book. We are indebted to Anton Powell for his invaluable support and assistance, and for their help with various aspects of the symposium, we remain thankful to Anke Bernau, Louise Bird, Patricia Duncker, Nick Fisher, Gareth Gerrard, Sallie Goetsch, Paul Goring, Alan Greaves, Derek Horgan, Stephen Mitchell, Menachem Mor, Neville Morley, Georgia Nugent, Robin Osborne and Hans van Wees. We have fond memories of the audience of the symposium, who made perceptive comments and stimulated lively debate. The readers for the volume – David Harvey, Nick Fisher, and Jocelyn Wogan-Browne – made astute and perceptive comments, and it was an honour to work with them. Colleagues at Lampeter, Cardiff, Keele, and Aberystwyth offered useful advice and encouragement, in particular Stephen Clifford, Andy Fear, David McNaughton, David Noy and Stephen Todd. The University of Wales Collaboration Fund and the University of Wales Institute of Classics and Ancient History kindly awarded us grants to assist with the costs of publication.
In addition, we are grateful to the following for their assistance with this paperback edition: Edward Harris, Effy Karakantza, James Moore, Nancy Rabinowitz, and Corinne Saunders for their comments on a draft of the new preface, and Rosanna Omitowoju for providing a copy of the final draft of her monograph.
Susan Deacy, University of Manchester
Karen F. Pierce, University of Wales College of Medicine
May 2002