List of rape victims from ancient history and mythology

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Rape is a common topic in history and mythology. A list of notable survivors from history and mythology includes:

Contents

Ancient history

Mythology

Greek mythology

Female

Male

Hebrew Bible

Norse mythology

Roman mythology

Knights of the Round Table

Jewish mythology

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demeter</span> Greek goddess of the harvest, grains, and agriculture

In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Demeter is the Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over crops, grains, food, and the fertility of the earth. Although Demeter is mostly known as a grain goddess, she also appeared as a goddess of health, birth, and marriage, and had connections to the Underworld. She is also called Deo. In Greek tradition, Demeter is the second child of the Titans Rhea and Cronus, and sister to Hestia, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus. Like her other siblings except Zeus, she was swallowed by her father as an infant and rescued by Zeus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hades</span> God of the underworld in Greek mythology

Hades, in the ancient Greek religion and mythology, is the god of the dead and the king of the underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea, although this also made him the last son to be regurgitated by his father. He and his brothers, Zeus and Poseidon, defeated their father's generation of gods, the Titans, and claimed joint rulership over the cosmos. Hades received the underworld, Zeus the sky, and Poseidon the sea, with the solid earth available to all three concurrently. In artistic depictions, Hades is typically portrayed holding a bident and wearing his helm with Cerberus, the three-headed guard-dog of the underworld, standing at his side.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heracles</span> Divine hero in Greek mythology

Heracles, born Alcaeus or Alcides, was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon. He was a descendant and half-brother of Perseus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leto</span> Greek goddess and mother of Apollo and Artemis

In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Leto is a goddess and the mother of Apollo and Artemis. She is the daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe, and the sister of Asteria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poseidon</span> Ancient Greek god of the sea, earthquakes, and horses

Poseidon is one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and mythology, presiding over the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses. He was the protector of seafarers and the guardian of many Hellenic cities and colonies. In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, Poseidon was venerated as a chief deity at Pylos and Thebes, with the cult title "earth shaker"; in the myths of isolated Arcadia, he is related to Demeter and Persephone and was venerated as a horse, and as a god of the waters. Poseidon maintained both associations among most Greeks: he was regarded as the tamer or father of horses, who, with a strike of his trident, created springs. His Roman equivalent is Neptune.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Persephone</span> Greek goddess of spring and the queen of the underworld

In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Persephone, also called Kore or Cora, is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the underworld after her abduction by her uncle Hades, the king of the underworld, who would later also take her into marriage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Selene</span> Ancient Greek goddess of the Moon

In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Selene is the goddess and personification of the Moon. Also known as Mene, she is traditionally the daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia, and sister of the sun god Helios and the dawn goddess Eos. She drives her moon chariot across the heavens. Several lovers are attributed to her in various myths, including Zeus, Pan, and the mortal Endymion. In post-classical times, Selene was often identified with Artemis, much as her brother, Helios, was identified with Apollo. Selene and Artemis were also associated with Hecate and all three were regarded as moon and lunar goddesses, but only Selene was regarded as the personification of the Moon itself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iris (mythology)</span> Ancient Greek goddess of rainbows

In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Iris is a daughter of the gods Thaumas and Electra, the personification of the rainbow and messenger of the gods, a servant to the Olympians and especially Queen Hera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nemesis</span> Goddess of retribution in Greek mythology

In ancient Greek religion and myth, Nemesis also called Rhamnousia, was the goddess who personified retribution for the sin of hubris: arrogance before the gods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leda (mythology)</span> Greek mythological Aetolian princess who became a Spartan queen

In Greek mythology, Leda was an Aetolian princess who became a Spartan queen. According to Ovid, she was famed for her beautiful black hair and snowy skin. Her myth gave rise to the popular motif in Renaissance and later art of Leda and the Swan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shapeshifting</span> Ability to physically transform in mythology, folklore and speculative fiction

In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shapeshifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through unnatural means. The idea of shapeshifting is found in the oldest forms of totemism and shamanism, as well as the oldest existent literature and epic poems such as the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Iliad. The concept remains a common literary device in modern fantasy, children's literature and popular culture. Examples of shapeshifters are vampires and werewolves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Twins in mythology</span>

Twins in mythology are in many cultures around the world. In some cultures they are seen as ominous, and in others they are seen as auspicious. Twins in mythology are often cast as two halves of the same whole, sharing a bond deeper than that of ordinary siblings, or seen as fierce rivals. They can be seen as representations of a dualistic worldview. They can represent another aspect of the self, a doppelgänger, or a shadow.

<i>Dionysiaca</i> Greek epic poem by Nonnus

The Dionysiaca is an ancient Greek epic poem and the principal work of Nonnus. It is an epic in 48 books, the longest surviving poem from Greco-Roman antiquity at 20,426 lines, composed in Homeric dialect and dactylic hexameters, the main subject of which is the life of Dionysus, his expedition to India, and his triumphant return to the west.

The Odyssean gods are the ancient Greek gods referenced in Homer's Odyssey.

Greco-Roman mythology features male homosexuality in many of the constituent myths. In addition, there are instances of cross-dressing, androgyny, and other themes which are grouped under the acronym LGBTQ+.

<i>Dialogues of the Gods</i> Dialogues by Lucian of Samosata

Dialogues of the Gods are 25 miniature dialogues mocking the Homeric conception of the Greek gods written in the Attic Greek dialect by the Syrian author Lucian of Samosata. The work was translated into Latin around 1518 by Livio Guidolotto, the apostolic assistant of Pope Leo X.

<i>Lore Olympus</i> Romance webcomic by Rachel Smythe

Lore Olympus is a romance webcomic created by New Zealand artist Rachel Smythe. The comic is a modern retelling of the relationship between the Greek goddess and god Persephone and Hades. Originally published to Smythe's Tumblr in 2017, she began publishing it weekly on the platform Webtoon Discover in April 2017, relaunching it on Webtoon Canvas in March 2018, where the series concluded in June 2024 after three seasons, and 280 episodes. On Webtoon, Lore Olympus is currently the most viewed comic, with 1.4 billion views, the second most liked comic, with 72.2 million total likes, just behind My Giant Nerd Boyfriend, which has 73.4 million total likes, and the second most subscribed comic with 6.6 million subscribers, just behind True Beauty, which has 7.5 million subscribers, as of November 2024. The comic has won two Eisner Awards, two Harvey Awards, and two Ringo Awards. It was announced in 2019 that a television adaptation was under development.

Rape in Greek mythology is a common motif. The struggle to escape from sexual pursuit is one of the most popular motifs of classical mythology. This type of pursuit and struggle could be those of gods assaulting mortals, or mortals upon other mortals, and less commonly also the attacks of mortals upon gods and gods upon other gods. Other supernatural beings like satyrs and centaurs were often depicted attacking nymphs and maidens. Greek mythology depicts women as vulnerable to assault, able to escape only through death, or metamorphosis like Daphne who becomes a laurel tree. The consequence of fleeing sexual violence is another type of force on the body, the loss of the human form — women who survive sexual violence become pregnant, and when gods are the rapists, produce a hero child.

References

  1. Butler, Francis (2012). "The "Legend of Gorislava" (not "Rogned'" or "Rogneda"): An Edition, Commentary, and Translation". Dubitando: Studies in History and Culture in Honor of Donald Ostrowski (PDF). Bloomington: Slavica Publishers. pp. 335–352. ISBN   9780893574048 . Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  2. In some versions of the story, Zeus seduces Leda and she submits willingly. In others, such as that retold in William Butler Yeats' "Leda and the Swan", he rapes her: Romigh, Maggie (2007). "Luci Tapahonso's 'Leda and the cowboy': a gynocratic, Navajo response to Yeats's 'Leda and the swan'". In Cotten, Angela L.; Acampora, Christa Davis (eds.). Cultural sites of critical insight: philosophy, aesthetics, and African American and Native American women's writings . Albany, New York: State University of New York. p.  159. ISBN   9781429465700.
  3. Cornell, Timothy J (1995). "9. The Beginnings of the Roman Republic: 2. The Problem of Chronology". The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (c. 1000-264 BC). The Routledge History of the Ancient World. Routledge. pp. 218–225. ISBN   978-0-415-01596-7.