Author: Academia.edu

Abstract: »The essay that follows, meanwhile, Ulriika Vihervalli’s ‘Shame on whom? Changing clerical views on raped women in Late Antiquity’, looks for the ‘much starker’ (p. 99) evidence for the real experiences of rape, an area which Karen Pierce and I had hoped to address in the 1997 book, but which, it turned out, was explored less than mythological, legendary, artistic and philosophical evidence where the metaphors and allegories for rape can open up a window on a range of cultural concepts but without presenting the lived experiences of historical women. Vihervalli’s chapter seeks to address this omission while also looking at a period – the fifth century ce – which, as noted above, like other Late Antique periods, was omitted from the 1997 book. Vihervalli also explores an area which was likewise not explored in much detail as would now be expected in a book on ancient rape, namely wartime rape which, as Gaca has argued in particular (e.g. Gaca 2011 ), was not just a key aspect of ancient warfare but a motivation for warfare in the first place. The wartime rapes under discussion concern those of fifth-century Christian women, particularly a specific category of women – consecrated women – whose violation was considered especially troubling for Christian writers. Vihervalli explores how, to deal with sexualized violence that was commonly perpetuated against Christian women, a move was made, initially by Augustine, away from an assumption that the ideal option for a woman facing, or having experienced, rape was suicide and towards a concern for how to enable violated women to resume their roles in their communities.« (Source: Deacy, Susan. »Introduction: 'Twenty Years Ago': Revisiting Rape in Antiquity.« Revisiting Rape in Antiquity: Sexualised Violence in Greek and Roman Worlds. Edited by Susan Deacy et al. London 2023: p. 9)

Contents:

	Late fourth-century rape narratives (p. 100)
	Augustine’s revisions (p. 102)
	Leo and the status of raped women (p. 104)
	Conclusion: Shame on whom? (p. 106)
	Notes (p. 107)
	Bibliography (p. 108)
		Ancient sources (p. 108)
		Works cited (p. 109)

Lecture: Vihervalli, Ulriika. »Against bishops's will? Dynamics of wartime rape in the fifth century west.« Rape in Antiquity: 20 years on. London 2017. - Bibliographic Entry: Info

Wikipedia: Ancient history: Ancient Rome / Western Roman Empire | Christianity: Augustine_of_Hippo / The City of God | Christianity: Pope Leo I / Documents of Pope Leo I | Myth: Roman mythology / Lucretia | Sex and the law: Rape / History of rape