A Summary Of Livy The Early History Of Ancient Rome's Rape Culture

“Rape is unique. No other violent crime is so fraught with controversy, so enmeshed in dispute and in the politics of gender and sexuality… And within the domain of rape, the most highly charged area of debate concerns the issue of false allegations. For centuries, it has been asserted and assumed that women “cry rape,” that a large proportion of rape allegations are maliciously concocted for purposes of revenge or other motives.”

As history has shown, life cannot be sustained without a female presence. Religion of this time took that into consideration as women were the center of worship and ensured that proper rituals and ceremonies were upheld to please the gods. In both Greek and Roman religion, most deities were of female gender due to their connection with the cycle of life as well as having a nurturing demeanor. These female goddesses stayed consistent in both societies, under different names. For example: The goddess of hearth and home was known as Hestia in Greek mythology, and Vesta in Roman; Aphrodite is the goddess of sexual attraction and love in Greece, with her equal Venus in Rome. Female goddesses followed the skill sets of women in this time – the bearing of children as well as all life, keeping of

Roman women generally had three choices in life; they could remain unmarried, either by choice or due to an insufficient dowry, they could marry, or they could become Vestals. Vestals were priests who cared for the temple of Vesta, the goddess of the hearth. Roman men did not want their wives involved in their public lives so married women tended to stay out of the way. Instead, they remained busy running the home, preparing meals for their husbands, caring for children, and spinning. Wealthier Roman women, usually betrothed at birth, had

In examining the histories presented by Livy and Tacitus, it is crucial to take into account the agendas of the respective authors. While both set out to portray as accurate of a historical representation as possible, it is evident that both renowned historians and rhetoricians intended to deliver several significant messages regarding their thoughts on Rome. Both authors do, indeed, acknowledge the greatness of Rome and champion the core of Roman values; however, Livy and Tacitus tactfully elaborate on different troubles that face the Roman Empire. The histories put forth by these great men aim to present the past as an aid to promote

On the other hand, the involvement of them could still be proven by the sources that historians do have today. Ancient Rome people believed that religion and their relationship with the gods directly affects their lives, prosperity, and achievements. As the result, it had a huge and important effect on their civilization and history. “The Romans hoped, if not expected, that the gods would hold up their end of the arrangement if Romans did what was demanded of them.” (Schultz, p. 1) And they believed that what was demanded is doing special religious practices. This kind of approach shows the importance of religion for Romans, especially the rightness of rituals execution. Since a lot of these practices involved women’s participation and could not be performed without them, females affected the proper enactment, which Romans believed directly affected their lives and well-being directly. Moreover, antient Rome had a special role for women in religion, which was very influental and respecred. Vestal virgins were essential part of the religion and influenced families, marriage and relationship approach of Romans. They were “in Roman antiquity, priestesses of Vesta, goddess of the hearth. The vestals were vowed to thirty years of service as virgins: ten of learning, ten of performance, and ten

In his work, The History of Rome, Livy focuses on how the standard of morality of Rome is reflected in its leader. Livy does not hide Romulus’s ignobility by only telling the mythological version of the founding; instead, Livy provides more practical explanations because this allowed him to show Romulus as the dishonorable person that Rome needed in order to establish herself. In this way Livy could better connect the integrity of early Rome with the integrity of Romulus. Livy wanted the reader to realize that Rome would have never survived unless it had a ruthless first ruler such as Romulus.

Livy’s The Rise of Rome serves as the ultimate catalogue of Roman history, elaborating on the accomplishments of each king and set of consuls through the ages of its vast empire. In the first five books, Livy lays the groundwork for the history of Rome and sets forth a model for all of Rome to follow. For him, the “special and salutary benefit of the study of history is to behold evidence of every sort of behaviour set forth as on a splendid memorial; from it you may select for yourself and for your country what to emulate, from it what to avoid, whether basely begun or basely concluded.” (Livy 4). Livy, however, denies the general populace the right to make the same sort of conclusions that he made in

Ancient Rome was a society dominated by reputation and status, where sexual scandal could break one’s career. The key primary source on sexual scandal in the Roman world comes from the second century CE ancient historian, Suetonius. In his most popular work, The Twelve Caesars, Suetonius shows the scandal and offensive sexual behaviors of numerous emperors, including the infamous Julio-Claudian line. From Nero’s supposed castration of a male lover, to Caligula’s alleged incest with his sister, Suetonius’ writings are steeped in character assassinations and scandalous sexual allegations. While Suetonius has been considered an important source for the history of Roman emperors, numerous scholars such as Catherine Edwards, Kirk Ormand, Tamsyn

Even being from the same time frame in history, the Roman women from Sparta and the Greek women from Athens were completely different. Their ideas, habits, and daily activities were majorly impacted by the community they lived in. Some of the main differences between the lifestyles of these women include the rights they were given under the government, the daily and professional attire of the women, and the marital and divorce rituals of each of the women. Though they had many different things about them, they also had some similarities that connected them together. Both the Athens and Sparta have two completely different statuses for their women in the society, in many different aspects as well.

They were basically revered as gods themselves, they also got their own spectator box in the Roman Coliseum. Also, when they had reached 30 years of service and were then retired, they were allowed to marry, although most didn’t. Vesta also had her own holiday, called the Vestalia. “Every June 9, the Vestalia was celebrated. During this festival, Roman matrons walked barefoot in a procession to Vesta’s temple, where they prayed for her blessing on their households” (Vesta and the Vestal Virgins). Even though she had mostly been worshipped by farmers, Vesta soon became important in every

The term ‘rape culture’ was coined by feminists in the United States in 1970. The term itself was designed to illustrate the ways in which society blamed victims of sexual assault, and how the normalization of male sexual violence was acceptable. Rape culture can stem from the acceptance of rape as a daily occurrence, manifested as a male prerogative. There is a hesitation by the authorities to go against the patriarchal cultural norms, hence linking nonconsensual sex to the cultural disposition of society. The patriarchal perspective of rape culture, embedded with gender inequality and misogyny are passed through generations which ultimately leads to the extensive institutional and social acceptance of rape. Actions which advocate sexist ideals are utilized to justify and validate normative misogynistic perceptions. Rape culture sexualizes violence inflicted upon women, as it serves as a continuum of a society which views a women’s body to be sexually available by default, deriving from the overall domination and objectification of a female. The underlying cause of rape culture is localized as it based upon the social aspects of culture. For example, countries with a prolific ‘war culture’ tend to emphasize violence and masculinity, and therefore rape is viewed as a normal facet of society. I intend to parallel the element of rape culture to the enforcement of social rules and the conditioning of gender roles. I plan on analyzing the notion that within the encompassment of

In the Livy Stories on of the thing addressed were the: Rape of Sabine woman, and The Rape of Lucretia. The author shows us how the Romans viewed women in that time. The Romans women were portrayed as worthless, power, no-name and weak objects. In the story of the Rape of Lucretia, Sextus rapes Lucretia because she is better than his wife. He thought that she was nothing and that was just an object.

Rape has been an ongoing issue within society for centuries. In early times, men raped women for reproductive purposes. Today, it is still believed

Ancient Rome was known for its rich history and vast influence that is still attributed into modern day society. When speaking about Rome itself and the reason of influences it has made over the course of years, many people only seem to recognize the male figure. But looking at the course of history at a closer glance, women have made their marks not only within the Roman Empire but within the history itself. Before going further, one must first understand what goes into an average day and the lifestyles and customs the Roman Woman took. One must also understand that what may seem abnormal in today’s society, would fit a perfectly normal life for the ancient Roman citizen, most especially of the Roman women.

The future conditions of the woman’s potential marital worth were much poorer than any punishment the violator could have received. Once a woman was raped, her virginity was no longer available for her husband to have. “‘Virginity is the ornament of morals, the sanctity of the sexes, the peace of families and the source of the greatest friendships.’ Its existence was a precondition for marriage. To publicly breach it was to compromise honor, rank, even life; a ‘deflowered’ girl inevitably became a ‘lost’ girl. . . ‘The ravishing of virginity was the worst rape of all.’” (Cite Book 1) An innocent woman had now completely lost her worth to society and her own dignity due to a man’s egocentric and merciless actions.