"Ab Urbe Condita"

Book Review # 93234

History > Greek and Roman
Literature > Greek and Roman
Women Studies

"Ab Urbe Condita"

An analysis of the use of rape and defilement for political power in Rome, as described by Livy in "Ab Urbe Condita."

2,444 words () | 6 sources | APA | 2006 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper argues that women in ancient Rome were raped and defiled for the purpose of men to gain political power. The paper also includes a section on how women in ancient Rome were glorified only after their death, which was usually drastic, painful and self-inflicted. The paper is based on a volume of books written by Livy, called "Ab Urbe Condita."

From the Paper:

"Livy was writing during the time when Rome was going through major reforms. Augustus began his Pax Augustana, where his social reform included new laws that tried to regulate sexuality among the people . This was in reaction to the desire of Augustus wanting to bring Rome back to her ancestral times, where life seemed better and more moral. It is interesting to think about what was surrounding Livy when he was writing his volumes of Ab Urbe Condita because these political reforms seem to show in his writings. In the legends told about the Sabine Women, Lucretia, and Verginia, Livy gives the reader the idea that the wrongdoing of women causes revolts and revolutions within Rome. Moreover, the chosen vocabulary is peculiar in the idea of rape - women who were forcibly raped by a man who is not her husband was not described as being raped, however other women are considered raped by men about-to-be married to them. How are these distinctions made by Livy, and what was his reasoning behind them?"

Sample of Sources Used:

Calhoon, Cristina. 1997. "Lucretia, Savior and Scapegoat: The Dynamics of Sacrifice In Livy 1.57-59." In Helios 24:151-169.
Joplin, Patricia. 1990. "Ritual Work on Human Flesh: Livy's Lucretia and the Rape of the Body Politic." In Helios 17:51-70.
Joshel, S. 1992. "The Body Female and the Body Politic: Livy's Lucretia and Verginia." In Pornography and Representation in Ancient Greece and Rome, ed. A. Richlin, Oxford. 112-130.
Livy, Book I. H.E. Gould & J.L. Whiteley (editors). Bristol Classical Press. 1987.
Livy, Early History of Rome, Aubrey De Selincourt (translator), Penguin. 2002