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

  • Alcippe a daughter of Ares; raped by Halirrhothius, the son of Poseidon. She is avenged by Ares, who kills Halirrhothius.
  • Alcmene; raped by Zeus in form of her husband Amphitryon, resulting in the birth of Heracles.
  • Apemosyne; raped by Hermes, after slipping on skinned hides that he placed on her path. Later killed by her angry brother who thought she was lying about being raped by the god and kicked her to death.
  • Atalanta; attempted rape by the centaurs Rhoecus and Hylaios, both of whom she slew with her bow.
  • Auge; raped by Heracles.
  • Aura; raped by Dionysus while she was drunk.
  • Callisto; raped by Zeus in the form of Artemis or Apollo, resulting in the birth of Arcas.
  • Cassandra; raped by Ajax the Lesser during the Sack of Troy.
  • Chione; raped by Hermes in her sleep.
  • Cassiopeia; raped by Zeus in the form of her husband Phoenix.
  • Chalciope, abducted and raped by Heracles who planned an attack on Cos at night, killing her father Eurypylus, because he wanted her.
  • Danae; raped by Zeus in the form of golden rain, resulting in the birth of Perseus.
  • Demeter; only to a much later myth,(Arcadian myth, written around 2 AD), Demeter was being pursued by her brother Poseidon, and she changed into a horse to escape him. Poseidon, however, transformed himself into a horse and, after cornering Demeter, raped his older sister, resulting in her giving birth to Despoina, a mysterious goddess, and Arion, a divine horse.
  • Dryope; raped by Apollo in the form of a snake. [2]
  • Europa; abducted by Zeus in the form of a white bull, then raped, resulting in the birth of Minos.
  • Halie; a Rhodian woman raped by her own sons.
  • Harpalyce; raped by her own father Clymenus.
  • Hera; raped by her brother (and later husband) Zeus.
  • Io; pursued and eventually raped by Zeus, transformed into a heifer.
  • Leda, raped by Zeus in the form of a swan. [3] This resulted in the birth of Helen of Troy and Polydeuces (Pollux).
  • Liriope; raped by the river god Cephissus, resulting in the birth of Narcissus.
  • Medusa; Neptune rapes her in Athena's temple. Instead of blaming Neptune, Athena punishes the beautiful Medusa for the violation of her temple, and curses her by transforming her from a maiden into a monster.
  • Metis; pursued and eventually raped by her cousin (and later husband) Zeus, resulting in the eventual birth of Athena.
  • Nemesis; raped by Zeus, her first cousin once removed, who relentlessly pursued her, changing many forms. In some versions, Nemesis is the mother of Helen of Troy rather than Leda.
  • Nicaea; raped by Dionysus while she was unconscious.
  • Persephone; raped by her uncle Hades and in Orphic tradition by her father Zeus disguised as a snake or as Hades himself. This resulted in the birth of Zagreus and Melinoë.
  • Philomela; raped by her brother-in-law Tereus.
  • Procris; raped by Minos.
  • Rhea; raped by her son Zeus.
  • Tyro; raped by Poseidon in the form of her beloved, the river-god Enipeus.

Male

Hebrew Bible

Norse mythology

Roman mythology

Knights of the Round Table

Jewish mythology

See also

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. ↑ Robson, J. E. (1997). "Bestiality and Bestial Rape in Greek Myth". In Deacy, Susan; Pierce, Karen F. (eds.). Rape in Antiquity: Sexual Violence in the Greek and Roman Worlds. Classical Press of Wales. pp. 65–96. ISBN   9781905125876.
  3. ↑ 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.
  4. ↑ 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.
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