Transcript Livy, Myth and History II.

Myths and Values
Part II
The Rape of Lucretia
the contest:
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Etruscan princes and Collatinus were drinking, and each
claimed their wives were superior to the others’.
“The evening shadows were lengthening when they
came upon the royal princesses feasting and frolicking
with their friends. Then they sped off to Collatia: though
the evening was late, they found Lucretia still in the
main hall of her home, bent over her spinning and
surrounded by her maids as they worked by lamplight.
Lucretia was the clear winner of the contest. She
graciously welcomed her husband and the Tarquins as
they approached. …When Sextus Tarquin set eyes upon
her he was seized by the evil desire to debauch her,
spurred on as he was by her beauty and redoubtable
chastity.” (Livy 1.57)
The rape
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“When he saw she was resolute and would not
yield even out of fear for her life, he threatened
to disgrace her even in death by placing the
naked body of a murdered slave next to her
corpse, evidence that she had been killed in the
act of committing adultery of the basest sort.
When by this threat his lust vanquished her
resolute chastity, he left the house exulting in
his seeming conquest of the woman’s honour.
Lucretia’s resolve
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Lucretia, stricken to the heart at the disgrace, sent the
same messenger to her father in Rome and husband in
Ardea: each was to come with one trustworthy friend;
…a terrible ting had happened…(they arrived and found
her very upset) ..”What can be right when a woman’s
virtue has been taken from her? The impress of another
man is in your bed, Collatinus; yet only my body was
defiled; my soul is not guilty. Death with be my witness
to this. But pledge …that the adulterer will not go
unpunished. Sextus Tarquin did this, a guest who
betrayed his host, …(they) tried to comfort the
..woman..there is no guilt when intent is absent. ‘It is up
to you’, she said, ‘to punish the man as he deserves. As
for me, I absolve myself of wrong, but not from
punishment. Let no unchaste woman herafter
continue to live because of the precedent of
Lucretia,’ She took a knife ..and drove it into her
breast. (Livy 1.58)
The function of the story
Real Rape – a crime against the honour of a
woman’s male relatives
 Lucretia, wife of Collatinus,
 Sextus Tarquinius, son of last Roman king
Tarquinius Superbus (kinsman of Collatinus)
 Story demonstrates central values associated
with the role of females in the family: the ‘ideal’
daughter and wife, behaviour and obligations
expected of her
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The function of the Lucretia story
Lucretia an exempla (an example) demonstrating most
important quality expected of the ‘ideal’ Roman wife:
pudicitia = chastity and sexual fidelity
 A woman was expected to be aware that her actions
reflected on the reputation of her male relatives –
 To be found in bed with a slave - would have brought
shame to her husband and her paternal family.
 Lucretia represents the ultimate example of a good wife.
She sacrifices herself, so that no other Roman woman
who committed adultery could claim that she was
actually raped and blameless.
 Although Romans did not blame the woman when raped,
the story clearly implies that it is the woman’s role to
avoid bringing shame to her male kin at any cost.
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Lucretia and the Etruscan cliché
Etruscans considered by Greeks and Romans as
decadent and immoral.
 Greeks of Classical Period especially Athenians
shared similar ideology with the Romans about
women, male-female roles and marriage
 Etruscans also linked to tyranny (last king
Tarquin the Proud was Etruscan)
 End of monarchy associated with liberation
oppressive monarchy
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Theopompus, Greek historian (4th
century B.C.)
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“…Etruscans were extraordinarily pleasureloving, …slave girls wait on the men
naked….normal for Etruscans to share their
women …..Etruscans raise all their children
born…, not knowing who the father is of each
one. ….have many drinking parties,… make love
with all the women…no shame for Etruscans to
be seen having sexual experiences……etc.,”
Etruscan couple at banquet
Banquet Scene
The role of women in the legends
of early Rome
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Many stories link women to crucial events in Rome’s
history: women have an important role in public
narrative as instruments of political alliances or political
change
Legend of the Sabine Women - alliance between
Romans and their next-door neighbors allowed the
young state to continue; women were central to the
survival of the family, and, by extension, of the state.
Legend of Lucretia - linked to a revolution instigated
by her kinsmen and ends with expulsion of last king
Tarquinius Superbus and the establishment of the
Roman Republic
The nature of the Traditional stories from
Rome’s early history
Not factual accounts, but how Romans of
later periods viewed their past;
 Stories are anachronistic - they reflect
not so much values 6th to 4th centuries of
the city but values of later periods shared
by Livy’s own contemporaries.
 Stories are also an illustration of how the
Roman themselves envisioned the history
of their state.
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Traditional stories as exempla
(examples)
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Early history of Rome filled with examples (exempla) of good and
bad conduct: Lucretia’s sense of pudicitia represents the ideal
behaviour every respectable young woman should follow.
Young Tarquin represents an example of un-Roman behaviour and
its subsequent consequences.
Stories convey ideals and values associated with the Roman state,
patriotism, and central Roman institutions such as marriage, the
family, role of females and the social hierarchy;
Convey important ideals;
Examples of good behaviour and bad behaviour and consequences.
Didactic function (serve to educate about important values) – told to
children
Note: By Livy’s time these stories represent the developed tradition
– shaped over centuries –