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Athenian Attitudes to Rape and Seduction: The Evidence of Menander, Dyskolos 289–293

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 February 2009

P. G McC. Brown
P. G McC. Brown
Affiliation:
Trinity College, Oxford
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Extract

In his article ‘Did the Athenians Regard Seduction as a Worse Crime than Rape?’, CQ 40 (1990), 370–7, Edward M. Harris rightly casts doubt on the value of Lysias 1.30–5, which has generally been accepted as evidence that the Athenians did indeed regard seduction as the worse of the two crimes. Euphiletos in this speech is defending himself on a charge of murder, and, as Harris says (p. 375), ‘Euphiletus’ presentation of the Athenian statutes regarding rape and seduction is dictated by the rhetorical constraints of his case. It is not a reflection of widely held social attitudes.'

Type
Shorter Notes
Information
The Classical Quarterly , Volume 41 , Issue 2 , December 1991 , pp. 533 - 534
Copyright
Copyright © The Classical Association 1991

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References

1 This is how the passage is understood by Walther Kraus in his commentary (Vienna, 1960), and by Elaine, Fantham, ‘Sex, Status and Survival in Hellenistic Athens: a Study of Women in New Comedy’, Phoenix 29 (1975), 44–74, p. 53Google Scholar n. 26 – and no doubt by others who do not feel the need to say so explicitly.

2 See (for instance) Dover, K. J., Greek Popular Morality in the Time of Plato and Aristotle (Oxford, 1974), ch. IGoogle Scholar (‘Interpretation of the Sources’). Dover regards New Comedy as less problematical than Old Comedy in this respect.

3 So Gomme, A. W. and Sandbach, F. H., Menander: a Commentary (Oxford, 1973), p. 33CrossRefGoogle Scholar: ‘If the girl had been a consenting partner, that would have lowered her in the eyes of the fourthcentury Athenian. On the other hand, although rape was regarded as a disgraceful act, it was by no means an unpardonable or unthinkable one.’ See also Jasper, Griffin, Latin Poets and Roman Life (London, 1985), pp. 126–7.Google Scholar