# List of rape victims from ancient history and mythology

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

## Ancient history

* Boudica's two daughters, raped by Roman soldiers
* Rogneda of Polotsk or Gorislava; according to the Suzdalian Chronicle sub anno 1128, raped by Vladimir, half-brother of her betrothed Yaropolk I of Kiev, in the presence of her parents (10th century)
* A slave girl in Ibn Fadlan's account of a Norse funeral (c. 922), gang-raped and killed as part of a chief's funeral ritual
* Li Zu'e, an empress who was raped by her brother-in-law and became pregnant
* Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-c. 1656), Italian Baroque artist
* Xenia Borisovna, Russian princess, forcibly taken as a concubine by False Dmitry I
* Periander, tyrant of Corinth, was said to have experienced rape by deception from his mother.

## Mythology
### Greek mythology
#### Female

* Alcippe a daughter of Ares; raped by Halirrhothius, the son of Poseidon.
* 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.
* 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; according to an Arcadian myth, 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.
* 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.
* Apemosyne, raped by Hermes and later on killed by her angry brother who though that she was lying about being molested by the god and he kicked her to death.
* 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. 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; in the later versions, raped by Poseidon in Athena's temple.
* 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

* Adonis; in some versions, raped by Aphrodite.
* Bellerophon; raped by (and later accused of doing the same by) Stheneboea.
* Caeneus; in some versions, raped while still biologically female by Poseidon.
* Cephalus; raped by Eos
* Chrysippus of Elis; raped by King Laius of Thebes, father of Oedipus by Jocasta.
* Cinyras; raped by his daughter, Myrrha, via deception and alcohol.
* Daphnis, son of Hermes; raped by Echenais, with the aid of wine.
* Endymion; raped by Selene as he slept.
* Ganymede; raped by Zeus
* Hermaphroditos; raped by (and later merged with) the nymph Salmacis.
* Hylas; raped by naiads.
* Lyrcus, son of Phoroneus, raped by Hemithea, by means of alcohol.
* Odysseus; in some versions, raped by Calypso on the island of Ogygia in his seven-year stay.
* Silenus; raped by the cyclops Polyphemus.

### Hebrew Bible

* Dinah; raped by a Canaanite prince and avenged by her brothers.
* Lot; raped by his daughters while under effect of alcohol, Genesis 19:30-38.
* Tamar; raped by her half-brother Amnon and avenged by her brother Absalom.
* Susanna;A Hebrew wife who was privately bathing, when two men spy upon her and try to extort her into have sexual relations with them, by making false allegations against her.

### Norse mythology

* Rindr; raped by Odin in Saxo Grammaticus' version of the engendering of Baldr's avenger

### Roman mythology

* Lucretia; raped by a prince, Sextus Tarquinius.
* The Sabine women; raped by the founders of Rome
* Rhea Silvia, raped by Mars.
* Medusa; raped by Neptune in Minerva's temple, as the rape happens in Ovid's version.
* Lara; raped by Mercury as he escorted her to the Underworld.
* Caeneus; formerly known as Caenis raped by Neptune in Ovid's version.
* Endymion; raped by Selene while he was sleeping.

### Knights of the Round Table

* Lancelot; Elaine of Corbenic posed as Guinevere to perform a rape by deception upon him.
* Igraine; Uther Pendragon posed as her husband Duke Gorlois of Cornwall to perform a rape by deception on her, leading to the birth of King Arthur.

### Jewish mythology

* Adam; raped by Lilith to create the Lilium.