Violated Victims from Ancient to Present
Rape. It’s a touchy subject and makes a lot of people uncomfortable – as it should – but it should not be ignored. Ancient mythology and, unfortunately, present day reality is filled with horrific stories in which both women and men suffer as victims to aggressive and selfish rapists. Based on historical records, many mythological stories recount realistic situations that were actually occurring in ancient times. In ancient Rome, rape was not an uncommon occurrence, especially in wartime. In fact, according to Douglas Wong of Columbia University, ancient Roman law differed from current legal acknowledgment of rape and consent: first, stuprum was the term most commonly utilized, which – in reference to the online Babylon Dictionary (Babylon Software Ltd., 2016) only recognized rape between a man and a single women, maid, or widow (this excludes wives and other men); second, consent only counted for free-born citizens, and even then, wartime forced acceptance, and women may or may not have been included as citizens who could speak on their own behalf (Wong, 2017). Although the legal system is not the same, myths do encompass themes that are relevant to current circumstances.
Zeus is the king of the gods. His masculinity, power, and appetite is known throughout numerous lands, eras, and ages. He has had an ample supply victims. No mortal could be deemed safe from his vast cravings. The myths in which Zeus claims his victims, he completely disregards any notion of consent, and he takes no responsibility for his actions. Here, I will discuss only three of many Zeus victims: Leda, Ganymede, and Europa. In the first story, Zeus metamorphoses into a swan and seduces a woman named Leda, the wife of King Tyndareus. Some versions of this myth claim that this interaction was rape because Zeus took advantage of a woman simply trying to save a swan from an eagle, yet the word seduce makes it seem that Leda “consented;” therefore, the all-too-common phrase “she wanted it” is a more current expression that would parallel Zeus’ defense in this case. However, the next victim – a young man names Ganymede – definitely did not provide consent when Zeus transformed himself into an eagle and abducted the young man to be Zeus’ cupbearer and lover in Olympus. This story provides context to address the fact that women are not the only ones who can be victimized by rape. The third victim to discuss provides another scenario. Europa came across a very gentle bull one day grazing in a field. The bull was so kind and gentle, in fact, that Europa ventured to climb onto the bull’s back. Unfortunately, this bull just so happened to be Zeus in yet another animal form. Take a moment to consider the connection between Zeus’ transformation and the animalistic properties that rape requires. Once Europa takes her place upon the animal’s back, it runs to sea and swims to Crete where she would bear many sons to Zeus. Rape does not just happen. There are steps that lead to such a tragic event. This is a situation that creates many misunderstandings to say the least. If a woman speaks or even flirts with a man while he’s being gentle, and she still feels safe, that does not give him the freedom to take her away and do with her what he pleases. Even if he’s the king of the gods. (Reference https://www.bustle.com/articles/94692-8-weirdest-sex-things-that-went-down-in-greek-mythology for a quick view of these stories.)
The greatest hero of all myths even offers his own version of rape. Herakles – ironically conceived by another Zeus-as-rapist incident – has an appetite that strongly resembles that of his fathers’. Francesca Spiegel, from Humbolt-Universitat zu Berlin, presents Herakles through to perspective of his second wife, Deianira. Spiegel has analyzed Deianira’s character in order to get a sense of the victim within a marriage: a victim not protected by the ancient Roman enforcement of stuprum. Herakles’ main focus was the labour or adventure at hand – not his wife and home life. He came and went as needed and brought Deianira to whatever city and whatever “home” he deemed fit. Spiegel explains that Deianira was always a woman in a foreign place. The only familiarity she had was her husband and even he had a “monstrous nature” (Spiegel, 2017). When Herakles did come home, he had his way with his wife in whatever state of mind his last quest had put him in. This story brings to light that women in a marriage still have to consent every time to sexual intercourse; she is not at the whim of her husband’s animal-like appetite.
Alongside these few stories, several other myths are flooded with the theme of rape – directly and symbolically. These myths can serve a more significant purpose than simply a form of entertainment; they can help bring awareness to a subject that has terrorized victims for ages. In these and more, the victim is trapped in a terrible situation – trapped in the presence of their aggressors. Even if the victim does survive the rape, he or she can still feel trapped by the memory. Throughout time, false assumptions have arose about rape. The University of Minnesota Duluth has composed a list of common incongruities in relation to rape:
False: Women incite men to rape.
True: The majority of rapes are planned. The rapist is responsible for these actions – not the victim.
False: A victim shouldn’t dwell on the incident.
True: Telling the victim it’s better to “forget it” is a selfish lie. A victim should feel safe to talk about a rape.
False: Only “bad” women get raped.
True: Victim blaming is a problem. Saying the victim put him or herself in an unsafe situation is just making excuses for the rapist.
These are some of many more common lies people tell themselves to make rape okay. (See http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/jhamlin/3925/myths.html for more.)
Ultimately, it’s important to understand perspective. Times have changed, so our awareness of dangerous happenings, such as rape, should change and sharpen too. If we are willing to utilize these myths as warnings, they could be beneficial for potential victims in years to come. Myths can vary to serve almost any purpose, so why not use them to eliminate rape today?
References
Babylon Software Ltd. (2016) Stuprum Definition from Law Dictionaries and Glossaries. Available at: http://dictionary.babylon-software.com/stuprum/ (Accessed: 24/06/17).
Hamlin, J. (2005) List of Rape Myths. The University of Minnesota. Available at: http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/jhamlin/3925/myths.html (Accessed: 24/06/17).
Rutherford-Morrison, L. (2015) 8 Weirdest Sex Things That Went Down In Greek Mythology. Bustle. Available at: https://www.bustle.com/articles/94692-8-weirdest-sex-things-that-went-down-in-greek-mythology (Accessed: 24/06/17).
Spiegel, F. (2017) Sexual Rejection and the Monstrous Husband: Heracles in Trachiniae. Presented at: Rape in Antiquity 20 Years On, University of Roehampton.
Wong, D. (2017) Rape and Consent in Roman Law. Presented at: Rape in Antiquity 20 Years On, University of Roehampton, London.