Rape And The Mortal Rapists

In Greek mythology, there are many stories pertaining to divine vengeance and mortals. There are many different reasons as to why the gods penalize humans, and likewise, an assortment of punishments cast down upon these offenders. Throughout the book, Powell gives many examples of the wrath of the gods and the differences in their punishment styles based on their gender. Male gods do not usually punish male offenders with a quick and easy death. They prefer to use a more prolonged and torturous style of punishment; where as female gods use a quick, more destructive punishment that affects more than just the offenders themselves.

Gortyn was a city-state populated by descendants of the Mycenaean’s and Dorian settlers. Greek city-states that were settled by Dorians including Sparta, gave greater rights to women then city-states, which instead were settled by other tribes. In Ancient Greece, it could be argued that many saw adultery as an act, which was worse than rape. The Gortyn law Code could therefore be classed as unusual as in there is a punishment albeit only financial. ‘If one commit rape on a free man or woman, he shall pay 100 staters …and if a slave on a free man or woman he shall pay double, and if a free man on a male or female serf, five drachmas, and if a serf on a male or female serf, five drachmas.’ The fine is largely determined by the difference in social status between the victim and the accused. A free man raping a slave is the lowest fine and a slave raping a free man or woman is the largest fine. Free women seem however, to have a respected place in society if raping a woman is seen as a punishable offence, which in the ancient world wasn’t always seen as that. It emphasises how Gortyn society valued omen based on what social class they adhered

“Before the rape I felt good. My life was in order. I was getting ready to get married. Afterward everything changed. I kind of lost who I was as a person…

The Myth of the Black Rapist, according to Davis’s Rape, Racism, and the Myth of the Black Rapist, “has been methodically conjured up whenever recurrent waves of violence and terror against the Black community have required convincing justifications.” So, a seed would be planted that an African American raped someone in hopes that it would help in their sentencing. It functioned as a form of social control because no one would stand up to support them; even if it was blatantly obvious that this male didn’t rape anyone, no one wanted to go against the “norm.” “The myth of the black rapist of white women is the twin of the myth of the bad black woman-both designed to apologize for and facilitate the continued exploitation of black men and women”

The gods are constantly involved with mortal women and are not shamed for it, Zeus’ being especially guilty of this. However, Calypso argues that when an immortal women such as herself sleeps with a mortal man she is berated and the man is whisked away. She refers to the gods as “scandalized” in result of her involvement with Odysseus, yet they are unimpeded to sleep with any women they desire. Calypso wishes the power to be held to the same standard as the gods, but the etiquette of a goddess is to not freely become involved with mortals, as it is of a god. Calypso angrily must give up Odysseus, and in book six he finally makes his way onto another island after a near death experience awash in the sea. On this island lives Princess Nausicaa who also must undergo gender roles. The goddess Athena, disguised as a friend of the princess, convinces Nausicaa that she should take a trip to the river to wash and bathe her clothes as a plan to get her and Odysseus to meet up. Odysseus finds Nausicaa at the stream, and first she is scared because he is dirty and very fatigued. He then talks to her, and she offers him help. She asks that he accompany her back to the palace where he can get help of her parents, the king and queen. He is about to ride in the Nausicaa's wagon, but then she asks that Odysseus must follow behind, telling him about what would possibly happen if the were to ride

In Greco-Roman Culture, humans imagine the deities of mythology to be and act certain ways, due to the needs they must fill. People invented certain deities for reasons that align with what they needed from them. To examine how a deity has a certain purpose, one must first examine what they are like. Athena and Ares are examples of deities invented for very specific purposes. One must first look at Athena and Ares’ similarities and differences in relation to their characteristics, their sexuality and physical appearances, as well as their different powers and how they are worshipped, to discover why they were created.

“Feminism has not prepared them for this,” states Camille Paglia in her essay “Rape: A Bigger Danger than Feminists Know.” The “them” in Paglia’s statement is referring to women, and she is discussing the topic of date rape. Susan Jacoby, on the other hand, writes in her article “Common Decency,” that feminism is not responsible for the rising cases of date rape, but that it is the men who are at fault. Paglia’s argument is insightful and accurate, but Jacoby’s writing is flawed and not well-researched. Paglia includes all rhetorical appeals and persuasive techniques, while Jacoby lacks in some departments of persuasiveness and fills the gap with logical fallacies. Comparing both of these papers will help the reader see why

“Gods can be evil sometimes.” In the play “Oedipus the King”, Sophocles defamed the gods’ reputation, and lowered their status by making them look harmful and evil. It is known that all gods should be perfect and infallible, and should represent justice and equity, but with Oedipus, the gods decided to destroy him and his family for no reason. It might be hard to believe that gods can have humanistic traits, but in fact they do. The gods, especially Apollo, are considered evil by the reader because they destroyed an innocent man’s life and his family. They destroyed Oedipus by controlling his fate, granting people the power of prophecy, telling Oedipus about his fate through the oracle of Apollo, and finally afflicting the people of

The Greco-Roman society was a very patriarchal society. This is reflected throughout the myths in classical mythology. By looking at the classic mythology we will see that the roles women portrayed are very different than women’s roles in today’s society. Although there are a few similarities to women’s roles in today’s society, their roles are more like those women in the past. We can see this by looking at the attributes of Greco-Roman female gods and looking at the roles women play in the myths. By comparing the roles of women in the myths with women’s roles today we will see that the roles have many differences and few similarities.

Greco-Roman mythology is rich in names, characters, and events. Dozens of gods, goddesses, and mortal women and men participate in a variety of activities that reflect or exemplify behaviors and power relations in Greek and Roman societies. A wealth of literature was written about the relationships between mortals and immortals in Greco-Roman mythology. Much was written and said about the place humans occupy in the complex mythical hierarchies. However, the role and place of women remain the topic of the hot literary debate. In Greco-Roman mythology, the image of woman is always

In the world of Ancient Greece, a large array of deities were worshipped. Each god had their own forms of identification in which they used to express themselves. This includes things such as personality, style, sexuality, and many other things. One of these forms of expression was gender. The Greeks seemed to focus more on the two typical genders, which are male and female. Some Greek gods seemed to play into certain gender roles, but others portrayed traits of the opposite sex. In this paper, I will be analysing the possibility that the Greeks believed the female and male genders were closely connected and that is why many of the gods are described with blended aspects of gender.

Rape is a crime that Americans hear very little about, yet everyone knows that such acts occur frequently. Rape is a very personal form of violence that continuously impacts the victim for years after it occurs, if not for the rest of the victim’s life. The effects of rape, short-term and long-term, can be catastrophic for the victim, causing them physical and psychological damage (Gluck, 2016). I believe that by using the Rational Choice Theory, rape can be eliminated in today’s society by the use of castration as a punishment for offenders and as a deterrence for possible future offenders.

Focusing on two of history’s most notorious mythologies, Greek and Roman, one may believe that they are exceedingly comparable; however, beyond a first glance, it is clear that each system is extremely distinguished. The Roman Empire, developed nearly a millennia following the great, Greek Trojan war, was highly influenced by the elaborate Greek myths of gods, goddesses, monsters, and mythical creatures. Their captivation of Greek culture bore a permanent effect on the Roman Empire, as Rome adopted much that defined Greece, including its art, philosophy, literature, drama, and most importantly, mythology. However, despite their indistinguishable origins, Roman and Greek mythologies prove to be very individualized.

One of the most obvious themes in this chapter is how much the justice system failed the maids, who were, in essence, innocent. Having been raped by the suitors, the fact that they were put to death for not asking Odysseus ' permission to sleep with them is ludicrous, as the very definition of rape relies on a lack of permission. The choice of setting and style for this chapter is ironic, as, set in a

Upon encountering Daphne, Apollo falls madly in love with her. Overcome by Cupid's arrow, Apollo sets aside reason and becomes engulfed by his hope of attaining his love. Before being transformed, Apollo would most likely have paid little or no attention to Daphne, but now, Apollo is overcome by his lust for beauty. Ovid compares Apollo's love for Daphne to a flame in a brush. This metaphor used by Ovid is very effective. The change that goes through Apollo is very sudden and fast. The imagery of a flame rapidly spreading through brush conveys the idea of an almost violent change. The god is consumed with a desire for the girl. His chase is fueled by a hope to overcome the ultimate futility of his actions. He sees every part of her as beautiful, her eyes, hair, face and even speculates as to the beauty of her hidden regions. Unsatisfied by the sight of Daphne and wanting more than just a glimpse of her beauty, Apollo follows Daphne as a hound chases a rabbit. The hope for his fruitless love keeps Apollo close on Daphne's trail, and fear motivates Daphne to stay just out of reach. When Ovid tries to convey the intensity of the flight, he says, 'He gave the fleeing maiden no respite, but followed close on her heels, and his breath touched the locks that lay scattered on her neck,';(p. 43) Finally, burdened by mortal exhaustion, Daphne prays to her father to deliver her from her torment. As the words leave her mouth, Daphne is transformed for the second