Violence against Virgins

**CW for mentions of sexual assault against women.

It is important to note that women who dared to remain separate from men indefinitely were often the objects of rape and murder. These women were seen as objects of desire and men would attack them and attempt to make them submit to their will. These stories rarely ended with the men punished for their actions, and often were seen as strong or heroic acts. The only thing that kept the virgin goddesses (Athena, Artemis, and Hestia) safe is that their status was granted by Zeus himself and defiling them was seen as an act against Zeus (Allan, 1993). I will not go into too much detail, but I feel it is important to mention when discussing the roles of masculinity and femininity in Ancient Greek myth.

Callisto and the Nymphs

Zeus transforming into Artemis to trick Callisto into having relations with him is only one instance of men disrespecting Artemis and the sanctity of her desire to not belong to men. Callisto likely would not have approached Artemis in the way she did if there was not some semblance of relationship there. Some argue that Callisto submitted to “Artemis” because of her status as a goddess, but she vehemently fights against Zeus when she feels his erection against her. Still, he overcomes her, and she falls pregnant, eventually leading to her being turned into a bear. She, however, was not the only nymph that fell prey to a god. They were also dedicated to remaining virgins, but nearly every myth involving such a nymph ends with them being pursued and raped or dying in an attempt to escape. It is a direct attack on female self-ownership and sexual power (Downing, 1994).

Priestess of Artemis

The priestesses of Artemis were virgin girls, and in Pausanias, this had always been true for the priesthood. Aristokrates raped one such priestess beside a statue of Artemis. Unfortunately, the only salient fact about her is her virginity and the rape is presented as a crime against the gods, not because of the priest’s status as as sacred virgin. Aristokrates was stoned for this affront and the priesthood changed the rule that instead of a virgin girl, the role was to be filled by a mature woman who had enough sexual intercourse with men. Her elder status was seen to be a deterrent of men who were looking to assault virgin priests (Sherwood, 1996).

Amazons

Amazons, while being the epitome of self-sufficient independence from men, were highly regarded as threats to male-dominated society. They are the most popular subject of sculptural representation, though this was due in large part to the number of celebrated Greek heroes testing their manhood against them. These tales involved the so-called heroes flexed their masculinity by seducing the Amazons, raping them, and stealing the belt that represented their virginity and thus their independence from men. Achilles was even said to have killed Pensthesileia, the Amazon’s queen, and copulated with her corpse. Mastering the Amazons sexually was seen as essential to challenge their audacious claim to live as self-sufficient women (Downing, 1994).