page_title: Sexuality in ancient Rome
section_title: Rape
hierarchical_section_title: Sexuality in ancient Rome / Female sexuality / Rape
context_page_description: Sexual attitudes and behaviors in ancient Rome are indicated by art, literature and inscriptions, and to a lesser extent by archaeological remains such as erotic artifacts and architecture. It has sometimes been assumed that "unlimited sexual license" was characteristic of ancient Rome. Verstraete and Provençal opine that this perspective was simply a Christian interpretation: "The sexuality of the Romans has never had good press in the West ever since the rise of Christianity. In the popular imagination and culture, it is synonymous with sexual license and abuse."
  But sexuality was not excluded as a concern of the mos maiorum, the traditional social norms that affected public, private, and military life. Pudor, "shame, modesty", was a regulating factor in behavior, as were legal strictures on certain sexual transgressions in both the Republican and Imperial periods. The censors—public officials who determined the social rank of individuals—had the power to remove citizens from the senatorial or equestrian order for sexual misconduct, and on occasion did so.
caption: Botticelli's Death of Lucretia (c. 1500): in Roman legend, Lucretia's rape and suicide brought about the overthrow of the monarchy and the formation of the Roman Republic
exif: {}