Lucretia
According to Roman tradition, Lucretia (/luːˈkriːʃə/ loo-KREE-shə, Classical Latin: [ɫʊˈkreːtia]; died c. 510 BC), anglicized as Lucrece, was a noblewoman in ancient Rome. Sextus Tarquinius (Tarquin) raped her and her subsequent suicide precipitated a rebellion that overthrew the Roman monarchy and led to the transition of Roman government from a kingdom to a republic.[1] After Tarquin raped Lucretia, flames of dissatisfaction were kindled over the tyrannical methods of Tarquin's father, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the last king of Rome. As a result, the prominent families instituted a republic, drove the extensive royal family of Tarquin from Rome, and successfully defended the republic against attempted Etruscan and Latin intervention.[1]
There are no contemporary sources of Lucretia and Tarquin’s rape of her. Information regarding Lucretia, how and when Tarquin raped her, her suicide, and the consequence of this being the start of the Roman Republic, come from the accounts of Roman historian Livy and Greco-Roman historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus approximately 500 years later. Secondary sources on the establishment of the republic reiterate the basic events of Lucretia's story, though accounts vary slightly between historians. The evidence points to the historical existence of a woman named Lucretia and an event that played a critical part in the downfall of the monarchy. However, specific details are debatable and vary depending on the writer. According to modern sources, Lucretia's narrative is considered a part of Roman mythohistory.[2] Much like the rape of the Sabine women, Lucretia's story provides an explanation for historical change in Rome through a recounting of sexual assault against women by men.
Early life and marriage
Lucretia was the daughter of magistrate
Rape
As the events of the story move rapidly, the date that Tarquin raped Lucretia is most likely the same year as the first of the fasti. Dionysius of Halicarnassus sets this year "at the beginning of the sixty-eighth Olympiad ... Isagoras being the annual archon at Athens";[5] that is, 508/507 BC. According to Dionysius, Lucretia therefore died in 508 BC. This approximate date is met with consensus by other historians; however, the exact year is debatable within a range of about five years.[6]
While engaged in the siege of
In a variant of the story,[8] Tarquin and Collatinus, at a wine party on furlough, were debating the virtues of wives when Collatinus volunteered to settle the debate. In order to do so, he proposed riding to his home to observe Lucretia. Upon their arrival, she was weaving with her maids. The party awarded her the palm of victory and Collatinus invited them to stay, but for the time being they returned to camp.[1]
Later in the night, Tarquin entered Lucretia's bedroom, quietly avoiding the slaves who were sleeping at her door. When she awoke, he identified himself and offered her two choices: he would rape her and she would become his wife and future queen, or he would kill her and one of her slaves and place the bodies together, then claim he had caught her having adulterous sex (see sexuality in ancient Rome for Roman attitudes toward sex). In the alternative story, he returned from camp a few days later with one companion to take Collatinus up on his invitation to visit and was lodged in a guest bedroom. He entered Lucretia's room while she lay naked in her bed and started to wash her belly with water, which woke her up. Tarquin tried to convince Lucretia that she should be with him, using "every argument likely to influence a female heart."[9] However, Lucretia stood firm in her devotion to her husband, even when Tarquin threatened her life and honor, while ultimately raping her.
Suicide
The account of Dionysius of Halicarnassus
In Dionysius of Halicarnassus' account, the following day Lucretia dressed in black and went to her father's house in Rome and cast herself down in the supplicant's position (embracing the knees), weeping in front of her father and husband. She asked to explain herself and insisted on summoning witnesses before she told them about her rape. After disclosing that Tarquin had raped her, she asked them for vengeance, a plea that could not be ignored because she was speaking to the chief magistrate of Rome. While the men debated the proper course of action, Lucretia drew a concealed dagger and stabbed herself in the heart. She died in her father's arms, while the women present lamented her death. According to Dionysius, "This dreadful scene struck the Romans who were present with so much horror and compassion that they all cried out with one voice that they would rather die a thousand deaths in defense of their liberty than suffer such outrages to be committed by the tyrants."[10]
The account of Livy
In Livy's version, Lucretia acts quickly and calmly, deciding not to go to Rome, but instead sends for her father and her husband, asking them to bring one friend each to act as a witness.
The account of Dio
In Dio's version, Lucretia's request for revenge is: "And, whereas I (for I am a woman) shall act in a manner which is fitting for me: you, if you are men, and if you care for your wives and children, exact vengeance on my behalf and free your selves and show the tyrants what sort of woman they outraged, and what sort of men were her menfolk!" She follows her statement by plunging the dagger into her chest and promptly dying.[14]
In this version, Collatinus and Brutus were encountered returning to Rome unaware of Tarquin's rape of Lucretia, were briefed, and were brought to the death scene. Brutus happened to be a politically motivated participant. By kinship he was a Tarquin on his mother's side, the son of Tarquinia, daughter of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, the third king before last. He was a candidate for the throne if anything should happen to Superbus. By law, however, because he was a Junius on his father's side, he was thus not a Tarquin and therefore could later propose the exile of the Tarquins without fear for himself. Superbus had taken his inheritance and left him a pittance, keeping him at court for entertainment.[15]
Collatinus, seeing his wife dead, became distraught. He held her, kissed her, called her name and spoke to her. Dio stated that after seeing the hand of Destiny in these events, Brutus called the grieving party to order, explained that his simplicity had been a sham, and proposed that they drive the Tarquins from Rome. Grasping the bloody dagger,[16] he swore by Mars and all the other gods that he would do everything in his power to overthrow the dominion of the Tarquinii. He stated that he would neither be reconciled to the tyrants himself, nor tolerate any who should be reconciled to them, but would look upon every man who thought otherwise as an enemy, and til his death would pursue with unrelenting hatred both the tyranny and its abettors; and if he should violate his oath, he prayed that he and his children might meet with the same end as Lucretia.
He passed the dagger around and each mourner swore the same oath by it. The primary sources of both Dio and Livy agree on this point: Livy's version is:[17]
By this blood—most pure before the outrage wrought by the king's son—I swear, and you, O gods, I call to witness that I will drive hence Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, together with his cursed wife and his whole blood, with fire and sword and every means in my power, and I will not suffer them or anyone else to reign in Rome.
Revolution
The newly sworn revolutionary committee paraded the bloody corpse of Lucretia to the Roman Forum where it remained on display as a reminder of the dishonor committed. At the forum, the committee heard grievances against the Tarquins and began to enlist an army to abolish the monarchy. Brutus "urged them to act as men and Romans and take up arms against their insolent foes"[17] in response to the death of a dutiful wife. The gates of Rome were blockaded by the new revolutionary soldiers and more were sent to guard Collatia. By now a crowd had gathered in the forum; the presence of the magistrates among the revolutionaries kept them in good order.
Brutus was the Tribune of the Celeres, a minor office of some religious duties, which as a
He began by revealing that his pose as a fool was a sham designed to protect him against an evil king. He levelled a number of charges against the king and his family: Tarquin’s rape of Lucretia, whom everyone could see on the dais, the king's tyranny, the forced labor of the
Brutus opened a debate on the form of government Rome ought to have, a debate at which many patricians spoke. In summation, he proposed the banishment of the Tarquins from all the territories of Rome and the appointment of an interrex to nominate new magistrates and conduct an election of ratification. They decided on a republican form of government with two consuls in place of a king executing the will of a patrician senate. This was a temporary measure until they could consider the details more carefully. Brutus renounced all right to the throne. In subsequent years, the powers of the king were divided among various elected magistracies.
A final vote of the curiae carried the interim constitution. Spurius Lucretius was swiftly elected interrex; he was prefect of the city already. He proposed Brutus and Collatinus as the first two consuls and that choice was ratified by the curiae. Needing to acquire the assent of the population as a whole, they paraded Lucretia through the streets, summoning the plebeians to a legal assembly in the forum. Once there, they heard a constitutional speech by Brutus. It began:[18]
In as much as Tarquinius neither obtained the sovereignty in accordance with our ancestral customs and laws, nor, since he obtained it—in whatever manner he got it—has he been exercising it in an honourable or kingly manner, but has surpassed in insolence and lawlessness all the tyrants the world ever saw, we patricians met together and resolved to deprive him of his power, a thing we ought to have done long ago, but are doing now when a favourable opportunity has offered. And we have called you together, plebeians, in order to declare our own decision and then ask for your assistance in achieving liberty for our country ....
A general election was held and the vote won in favor of the republic. This ended the monarchy, and during these proceedings Lucretia was still displayed in the forum.
The constitutional consequences of this event ended the reign of the hereditary king; however,
In literature and music
Lucretia became an important embodiment of political and literary ideals for different authors throughout the ages, specifically because "stories of sexual violence against women serve as foundational myths of Western culture."[20]
The story of Lucretia was a popular moral tale in the later Middle Ages. Lucretia appears to
The myth is recounted in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Legend of Good Women, and it follows a similar storyline to Livy's. Lucretia calls for her father and husband, but Chaucer's tale also has her call for her mother and attendants as well, whereas Livy's has both her father and husband bring a friend as witness. The tale also deviates from Livy's account, as it begins with her husband coming home to surprise her, rather than the men placing a bet on the virtue of their wives.[21]
Lucretia's rape and suicide is also the subject of William Shakespeare's 1594 long poem The Rape of Lucrece, which draws extensively on Ovid's treatment of the story;[24] he also mentions her in Titus Andronicus, in As You Like It, and in Twelfth Night, wherein Malvolio authenticates his fateful letter by spotting Olivia's Lucrece seal. Shakespeare also alludes to her in Macbeth, and in Cymbeline he further refers to the story, though without mentioning Lucretia by name. Shakespeare's poem, based on the rape of Lucretia, draws on the beginning of the Livy's account of the incident. The poem begins with a bet between husbands about the virtuousness of their wives. Shakespeare draws on the idea of Lucretia as a moral agent, as Livy did, when he explores his characters' response to death and her unwillingness to yield to her rapist. A direct excerpt from Livy is used when Shakespeare prefaces his poem with a brief prose called "Argument". This is the internal deliberation Lucrece suffered from, following the rape.[25]
Niccolò Machiavelli's comedy La Mandragola is loosely based on the Lucretia story.
She is also mentioned in the poem "Appius and Virginia" by John Webster and Thomas Heywood, which includes the following lines:
Thomas Heywood's play The Rape of Lucretia dates from 1607. The subject also enjoyed a revival in the mid twentieth century; André Obey's 1931 play Le Viol de Lucrèce was adapted by librettist Ronald Duncan for The Rape of Lucretia, a 1946 opera by Benjamin Britten which premiered at Glyndebourne. Ernst Krenek set Emmet Lavery's libretto Tarquin (1940), a version in a contemporary setting.
Jacques Gallot (died c. 1690) composed the allemandes "Lucrèce" and "Tarquin" for baroque lute.
In
In 1769, doctor Juan Ramis wrote a tragedy in Menorca entitled Lucrecia. The play is written in the Catalan language using a neoclassical style and is a significant work of the eighteenth century written in this language.
In 1932, the play Lucrece was produced on Broadway, starring legendary actress Katharine Cornell in the title part. It was mostly performed in pantomime.
In 1989, a song entitled The Rape of Lucretia was released by the Scottish musician Momus.
In Donna Leon's 2009 Venetian novel, About Face, Franca Marinello refers to the tale of Tarquin and Lucrezia, as recounted in Ovid's Fasti (Book II, for February 24, "Regifugium") to explain her actions to Commissario Brunetti.
American Thrash Metal band
Subject in art
Since the Renaissance, the suicide of Lucretia has been an enduring subject for visual artists, including
The subject was one of a group showing women from legend or the Bible who were either powerless, such as
The subject of Lucretia spinning with her ladies, is sometimes depicted, as in a series of four engravings of her story by Hendrick Goltzius, which also includes a banquet.[29]
- Examples with article
- Tarquin and Lucretia— life-size image of the rape by Titian
- The Story of Lucretia (Botticelli)—three scenes, of the rape, Brutus arousing the people, and the suicide
- The Suicide of Lucretia (Dürer)—single figure painting
- Lucretia and her Husband—distinctive depiction of Lucretia with a knife, and a shadowy male figure just behind. He is either Tarquin or her husband. By either Titian or Palma Vecchio.
- Lucretia (Veronese)
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e "Titus Livius (Livy), The History of Rome, Book I. 57-60". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2020-11-15.
- ^ Donaldson, Ian (1982). The Rapes of Lucretia: A Myth and Its Transformations. New York: Oxford University Press.
- S2CID 170269185.
- .
- ^ D.H. V.1.
- OCLC 31515793.
- ^ D.H. IV.64.
- ^ T.L. I.57.
- OCLC 768261.
- ^ D.H. IV.66.
- ISBN 978-0-19-814738-1, retrieved 2020-11-28
- JSTOR 4343273.
- ^ T.L. I.58.
- S2CID 170269185.
- ^ D.H. IV.68.
- ^ D.H. IV.70.
- ^ a b c T.L. I.59.
- ^ D.H. IV.78.
- ^ 'The Tragedy of Lucretia,' c. 1500–01, Sandro Botticelli, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
- S2CID 161204298.
- ^ Chaucer, Geoffery (2008). "The Legend of Good Women". Poetry in Translation.
- ^ Gower, John (2004). "Confessio Amantis". Rochester.
- ^ Lydgate, John (1923). "Full Text of "Fall of Princes, edited by Henrey Bergen"". Internet Archive.
- ^ Shakespeare's Poems: Venus and Adonis, The Rape of Lucrece and the Shorter Poems, ed. by Katherine Duncan Jones (Arden Shakespeare, 3rd edn., 2007), 'Introduction', passim.
- .
- ^ John Webster Appius and Virginia 5.3.224
- ^ Russell, Nos 1–14
- ^ Russell, Nos 1, 15, 16
- ^ British Museum, Story of Lucretia.
- Sources
- Dionysius of Halicarnassus (2007) [1939]. "Book IV, sections 64–85". In Thayer, William (ed.). Roman Antiquities. Loeb Classical Library. Translated by Cary, Earnest. Cambridge MA, Chicago: Harvard University, University of Chicago.
- Donaldson, Ian (1982). The Rapes of Lucretia: A Myth and Its Transformations. New York: Oxford University Press.
- Livy (1912). "Book I, sections 57-60" in History of Rome. English Translation by Rev. Canon Roberts. New York: E.P. Dutton and Co.
- Livius, Titus. "Book I, sections 57–60". Ab urbe condita.
- Russell, H. D., & Barnes, B. (1990). Eva/Ave: Women in Renaissance and Baroque Prints. National Gallery of Art.
External links
- Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). 1911. .
- Parada, Carlos (1997). "Lucretia". Greek Mythology Link. Retrieved 30 July 2009.
- Rijn, Rembrandt Harmensz van (1666). "Lucretia". The Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Archived from the original on 1 September 2009. Retrieved 30 July 2009.