The Rape of Lucretia

While the love between Portia and Brutus is equally reciprocated, we can see and contrast Calphurnia's love for Caesar this way. Portias' concern for Brutus

Following his infidelity with Circe, Odysseus stayed with Calypso for seven years until Zeus commanded Calypso to set him free. Odysseus begs, “My quiet Penelope-how well I know- would seem a shade before your majesty” (Calypso, the Sweet Nymph. 114-115). Additionally, this was not true love because he was already in love with Penelope and did not actually feel romantic love for Calypso, and was forced to sleep with her. Therefore, Odysseus justified his infidelity and commitment to adultery by boasting his masculinity and explaining that he was forced to sleep with the other women in order to free himself and his followers. Odysseus exclaims, “Down to the ship Eurylochus came running to cry alarm, foul magic doomed his men!” (The Enchantress Circe. 577-578). Homer and Odysseus reasoned their infidelity by explaining that it was the only thing Odysseus could do to free his people. This evidence shows a reader that love is not from being forced to commit adultery and loving a person

Love is a very common theme that is seen in literature, and love is one of the most powerful things that can be felt for someone or something. Love can drive a person to do incredible or horrible things, and we see many forms of love that take place in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This is demonstrated in the book by many characters including Hermia and Lysander who demonstrate true love. Titania and Bottom show magical love. In the play, love is also the cause of a few broken hearts. While there is no one common definition of love that suits all of the characters, the romantic relationship in the play all leans to one simple rule laid out by Lysander, “The course of true love never did run smooth.”

He has concubines, the main one being Breises, a captured Trojan woman who was given to him as a war prize. His love for her is established by his violent reaction to Agamemnon’s urging him to give her up.

His lust contradicts the divine will, where sex is only functioned as the tool of procreation (Confessions, Book II, Chap. 2). Even after Augustine arrives at Carthage, where he is supposed to study, he is surrounded by a hissing cauldron of lust (Confessions, Book III, 1). The increased level of devotion to sex and more undisguised ways Augustine utilizes to express his horny minds indicate his developing enthusiasm in lust. He says, “to love and to have my love returned was my heart’s desire, and it would be all sweeter if I could also enjoy the body of the one who loved me” (Confessions, Book III, 1). Not as later when he realizes that truth of God and knowledge of wisdom are more important, he still adores the shallow fleshy satisfaction. At the early stage of his life, Augustine uses sex to satisfy his personal demand and commits this sinful act against God. He prioritizes his personal satisfaction beyond his pursuit of God. Similarly, Aeneas arrives at Carthage and is trapped in the love of Queen Dido. He falls into the abyss of love and lust, where he commits illicit sex with Dido in the cave (Aeneid, Book IV, 219). He experiences transient diversion from his purpose to build his lineage in Rome. His people build city walls for Carthage instead for

Calypso fell in love with Odysseus and wants to marry him. She was possessed by her ‘love’ for Odysseus. Although Odysseus did not

At the age of 21, Theodora met Justinian (458-527) and her life changed forever. Procopius’s secret account of their meeting likens Justinian to the Lord of Demons and Theodora as his whore6. Justinian was Master of Soldiers, and since the law forbade a marriage between the two, Theodora became his concubine and was then raised to the rank of patrician. Justinian, under Theodora’s influence, persuaded the emperor to change the law, allowing actresses who had abandon their profession and sincerely repent to marry men of high position with the emperor’s permission7. Justinian and Theodora were then free to wed.

A Rape in the Early Republic, edited by Randall L. Hall, is the complete text of the John Deskins Trial which was compiled by Alexander Smyth, a prominent congressman and attorney in the Deskins case. This early in American legal history, rape trials were rare and when they occurred, there was little-to-no documentation of the cases. For example, John Deskins was the only rapist to go to jail in 1806 . This recount is significant to the development of legal history because it addresses gender and sexual misconduct cases in the early republic. During this time, the United States legal system was constantly changing to reflect changes and developments in society, making this case pivotal in legal history. In order to remain true to Smyth’s

This ancient Athenian murder trial centralizes around the expectations of marriage, the role of women in ancient Greece, and the dangers a husband faces after failing to properly supervise his wife. Euphiletus stands accused of the murder of Eratosthenes, his wife’s lover. According to Athenian law, if a husband finds his wife in bed with another man, it is the husband’s right to determine what penalty the male adulterer will face. The Husband could demand he pay a fine, or even justifiably kill him. The time period of Euphiletus’ trial had come to acknowledge financial compensation as the common settlement for such offenses. Eratosthenes’ family is having Euphiletus prosecuted for premeditated murder; leaving Euphiletus to convince a jury

Where this evidence survives it usually portrays any women who had any role in public affairs as not behaving in a manner that was befitting of a proper Roman women. For example, Fulvia is presented as “a counter-example of correct Roman women’s behavior” by literary sources for reportedly imposing her will upon the senate, and getting herself involved in

The primary source, “The Rape of Lucretia” written in 17 AD by Roman historian named Livy, who authored The History of Rome. The story is a form of propaganda that criticized the Roman monarchy while encouraging the reinstatement of the Roman Republic. The narrative depicts the rape of an honorable woman named Lucretia, who was admired for her humble, modest, hospitable, and dutiful nature. Tragically, she was raped by one of the emperor’s sons, Sextus Tarquinius. After she confides in her husband, father, and family friend Brutus about the Sextus’s crime

Through my reading of the article titled “Can she consent to sex after drinking” by Margaret Wente I identified two rape myths. As we know, rape myths are a set of beliefs about rape and sexual assault that feed into rape culture. These uneducated beliefs place the blame on rape victims rather than the perpetrators and attempt to blur the line between rape and consensual sex. In Wente’s article the rape myths I found are “As for those armies of would-be rapists lurking in every shadow – they’re your sons, your grandsons, your nephews and your brothers” and “If two young people get hammered and have drunken sex, he is responsible for his behaviour, but she’s not responsible for hers”. In the first rape myth the author uses a sense of sarcasm, what she is essentially say is that the people who you are calling rapist are in fact just your innocent friends and family. The author is assuming that people who commit acts of sexual violence are not people that we know. She uses this quote to make readers think that rapists are dark, devious, and unknown people. However, we know that in reality this is not the case, in approximately 80-90% of sexual assault cases the perpetrator is someone the victim knows. An overwhelming majority of rapes that occur on campuses are actually done so by the person the victim is dating or an acutance. Although the author tries to assume friends and family are not rapist, studies would argue to the contrary. In the second rape myth the author is

When Rome was newly established there was a vast disparity between the unmarried women and the men, the women were far outnumbered. Romulus knew that a new city like his couldn’t survive without women to increase the population, and that they quickly need more. After appeals to the neighboring cities with no avail, he decided that if they would not come, he would take them by force. His solution for this is to set a trap for the Sabine women, a festival was announced and people from neighboring cities were invited. Once they arrived, the women were carried off to be married to the men of the city; subsequently the Sabine’s reacted and prepared for war against Rome to retrieve their stolen women. War ensued but eventually the Sabine’s and Rome came to an agreement and later ruled together. This kidnap and rape of the Sabine women falls under the armed actions that Machiavelli finds appropriate for a new king. In order for their people to survive certain measures should be taken, and he believes that the most affective ones are done with force. Also, this action was done with a selfless goal in mind, the advancement of the Roman

In the fall of 1995, Kristin Cooper was a sophomore at Baker University in Kansas. She was a member of Alpha Chi Omega, an expert skier from the mountains of Colorado, a swimmer, and was active in band, choir and drama.

In Welch's article " Perspectives On and Of Livy's Tarpeia", she describes how Livy mentions Tarpeia as a "famous Roman woman". Tarpeia was as characterized as a "cycle of colorful stories that make up early Rome." Welch also talks about the moral foundation of the histography of the moral instructions. Tarpeia's story which Livy presents how the Romans capture the Sabines brides and with the ending of Kingship come together of Romulus and Tatius. How the reader's interpretation of Livy's description of Tarpeia's meaning is being characterized, and also how Tatius could influence Tarpeia. Welch illustrates the difficulty of Livy's process of the interpretation of fact about Tarpeia's story, and how difficult it was to characterize her as a negative example of how the people of her gender conduct themselves. Livy’s women were characterized as very powerful women. In Welch’s article, it states that “Tarpeia refused to be situated comfortably in any