The Rape of Lucretia - 1974 Words

The time is the sixth century, the place is Rome and the person is Lucretia, a woman who contributed to one of the biggest parts of Roman history: the creation of the Roman republic. The rape of the virtuous Lucretia by Sextus Tarquinius, the son of Tarquinius Superbus (an Etruscan king) was the final straw for the Roman people and pushed them to want to change from a monarchy to a republic. From the accounts of the rape of Lucretia from ancient historians like Livy, Cicero and Dionysius, it is clear that Lucretias rape not only spurred the roman people to want to get rid of the Etruscan King and his family, but also revealed the important role of virtue in women in roman society. There is no doubt that Lucretia, the wife of†¦show more content†¦Sextus saw what he desired and he took it, as his father had done and as Tullia always encouraged. The rape occurred a couple of days after Collatinus contest when Sextus went to Collatinus house, knowing he was not there, and was we lcomed as a guest by Lucretia. Later on, when it was nighttime and everyone was asleep, Sextus snuck into Lucretias room and tried to seduce her before he raped her. This was recorded by Livy who writes Sextus urged his love, begged her to submit...used every weapon that might conquer a womans heart(101) as well as by Dionysius who writes that Sextus told Lucretia if you will consent to gratify me, I will make you my wife, and with me you shall reign(65) After Lucretia rejects all his attempts to seduce her because she would rather die than be raped and lose her virtue, Sextus turns to manipulation and threatens her virtue by saying that after he kills her he will lay her body next to that of a dead slaves and tell people that he had caught her having impure relations with the slave. This would ruin her virtuous image and good reputation long after her death so Lucretia, who is more threatened by disgrace than by death, unwillingly submits herself to him. Through these accounts one can see that it is not clear whether Sextus was in love or merely in lust with Lucretia for he starts declaring his love for her, then tries to seduce her by telling her everything sheShow MoreRelatedMy Visit At The Art Institute Of Chicago1596 Words   |  7 PagesDuring my visit at the Art Institute of Chicago this quarter, a popular and interesting piece of artwork that spoke to me in ways that no other artwork did was the, â€Å"Tarquin and Lucretia† by Tintoretto or the artist known as Jacopo Robusti. Tintoretto is also known as the one of the most well-known Italian Renaissance artists and became interested in painting at a very young age. 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