Empathizing with Sexual Assault in Ovid’s Metamorphoses

Ovid strews a series of vignettes depicting various forms of sexual assault throughout his

Metamorphoses, masked as aetiologies and often euphemized (or simply described via rapio);

however, the emotional gravity of sexual assault sets them apart from the other myths in the

epic. They protrude among them. Phaëthon’s struggle with the chariot, for example, is

traumatic, but Phaëthon himself does not draw the same sympathy or empathy from the

audience as the victims in these myths about sexual assault, since his downfall is his own. These

victims are preyed upon by forces and beings Ovid claims they cannot even hope to resist. The

myths Ovid composes into his epic were already established in the Greco-Roman canon, which

suggests that these had a reason for their origin, and, furthermore, that Ovid includes them to

accomplish a specific cause. That cause is twofold: first, the myths empathize with actual

victims1 by presenting situations similar to their own assaults, showing that they are not alone

and offering a degree of trauma relief through that empathy; second, Ovid depicts the sexual

behaviors/encounters within as unacceptable2, in hopes to dissuade the actions that result in

such traumas.

The myth of Io speaks to the ways in which mental trauma from a rape can lead to a lack

of self-worth and it empathizes with those who have been in such a situation via quite the

ingenious metaphor. The metaphor begins with “inque nitentem Inachidos vultus mutaverat

[Iupiter] iuvencam;” Io’s transformation into a cow represents a major degradation to her

1
Due to the commonality of pederasty in the ancient world, this could include decent numbers of both males
and females.
2
This is similar to a common reception of Ovid’s Ars Amatoria as satirical, with him making fun of sexual
behaviors he deems unacceptable or extreme.
mental image of herself, and the grounds for the metaphor are further strengthened by the fact

that Jupiter, who raped her, also causes this transformation. 3 Io’s self-worth is further degraded

by exposure to society, represented by Argus and enacted by Juno, “donec Arestoridae

servandem traddit Argo.”4 Here, Juno decides to exact her revenge for the affair on Io rather

than Jupiter, a point which provides empathy for women who, either raped by a married man

or in a consensual relationship with a man they do not know is married, are viscously targeted

by the wife. Juno, metaphorically, turns the public against Io, as Argus looks on “centum

luminibus,” representing the inescapable presence of society.5 This all takes its toll on Io:

“frondibus arboreīs et amārā pāscitur herbā.

prōque torō terrae nōn semper grāmen habentī

incubat īnfēlīx līmōsaque flūmina pōtat.” 6

Her self-worth degrades to the point where she no longer thinks to treat herself to even basic

needs. The greatest bit of πάθoς comes when Io cannot even bear to look at her own reflection:

“novaque ut cōnspexit in undā cornua, pertimuit sēque exsternāta refūgit,” she not only

pertimuit but is so ashamed of her image that she refugit.7 Just as this is all happening, her

family fails to recognize her, both justifying to Io that her image has changed and also

empathizing with women who have been ostracized—or at least distanced—by their family

3
1.610-1.611
4
1.624
5
1.625
6
1.632-1.634
7
1.640-1.641
following a rape. For a moment, Ovid leads his audience to believe that Inachus will alleviate

Io’s distress, but he quickly delivers a crushing blow with the line: “dē grege nunc tibi vir, nunc

dē grege nātus habendus.”8 Inachus does not care about Io as much as he does about securing

a marriage. He reflects her degraded self-worth with his decreased value-assessment of her;

because she is a cow—not a virgin—she must marry a cow, someone of lower social respect.

The myth of Philomela seeks to empathize with rape victims by focusing on the act of

rape itself. The act plays out in two parts: the physical rape of Philomela and the symbolic rape

of trust between Pandion’s family and Tereus. As brutal as the physical aspects are, the cruelty

of Tereus comes equally from his breach of that trust, which is constantly brought to the

forefront throughout the myth, even during the physical rape itself. Ovid crafts a rape so vile

that any rape victim could listen to the account and find elements of their own. While the myth

itself existed before Ovid, it is the repeated references to the hospitality of Pandion et al. that

make it clear Ovid intends to go beyond a simple aetiology and to convey a message on

rape/sexual assault. He layers the trust, beginning with Procne’s plea to Tereus, moving to the

hospitalities exchanged between Tereus and Pandion, and completing it with Philomela’s pleas

to Pandion on behalf of Tereus. Then they set sail and Tereus lets loose the telltale lines:

“‘vīcimus!’ exclāmat, ‘mēcum mea vōta feruntur!’”9 It is troubling that no one aboard the boat

seeks to prevent what these lines suggest, but it is just this that allows victims of rape/sexual

assault to empathize with these myths, as it depicts societies tendency towards being

bystanders, something many of these victims would have experienced themselves. Then, during

8
1.660
9
6.513
the rape, Philomela reminds Tereus (and Ovid’s audience) of the violated trust once more, “nec

tē mandāta parentis cum lacrimīs mōvēre piīs,” taking care to show the emotion poured into

that trust with lacrimis and piis.10 This allows an even broader Greco-Roman audience to

connect with the myth, as this trust was part of their esteemed hospitality customs.

Just as cruel as Tereus’ breach of trust is, so too is the rape of Philomela brutal.

Interestingly, Ovid forgoes the usual rapuit, instead using vi superat.11 This phrase is explicit

about Tereus’ use of vis and is Ovid’s way of calling the reader’s attention to this passage. The

attention is merited. When Philomela reminds Tereus of the vows he broke, he removes her

tongue in his rage and, not satiated by one rape, “saepe sua lacerum repetisse libidine

corpus.”12 Though this rape is an extraordinary case, Ovid’s vivid description makes it

believable. The reader feels that it is sadly not outside the realm of possibility and that there

are even victims who have experienced similar. Here Ovid stresses that victims of rape should

be believed—an idea that has taken thousands of years to even begin to take root in the

institutions of society. Tereus takes Philomela’s voice, but through her weaving Procne hears

and believes her account, without which belief Philomela may never have escaped her

confinement.

Believability is likewise the reason that these myths of rape/assault all end the way they

do: with the rapist/assaulter going relatively unpunished. Never in history has there been a

period where rapists, especially those with power, were administered the proper justice; Ovid

highlights this, and builds credibility for his myths by having them end in such a way. Jupiter

10
6.534-535
11
6.525
12
6.562
walks away with a glorified scolding from Juno. Apollo gets to wear Daphne’s laurel.

Pygmalion’s sculpture comes to life. These endings all help women empathize more deeply with

the myths, unfortunately, because they are more likely to mirror what the women experienced.

In this regard, the end to Philomela is of particular interest. A woman finally seeks to punish her

rapist, but her means leave the reader in a bizarre debate as to whether she has gone too far.

Tereus’ exceptionally cruel acts merit an exceptionally harsh punishment, but the involvement

of innocent Itys puts it all into a moral blender. Whether the sisters were justified does not

matter, as Ovid makes a subtle point: this vengeance garners more attention than the vile crime

that caused it. His readers take for granted how terrible Tereus is and instead are drawn to

tireless scrutinizing of Philomela’s revenge, a point that many women can empathize with and

that remains relevant (e.g. criticism of Dr. Ford for speaking out against Kavanaugh).

Another facet of these myths that all women, not just rape/sexual assault victims, can

empathize with is both the fetishization and attitude of disposability of the female body.

Moreover, there is an utter lack of interest in the female mind. The best example of the

fetishization and accompanying disregard for the female mind is the myth of Pygmalion. Ovid

makes Pygmalion’s attitude towards women clear from the beginning: “offēnsus vitiīs quae

plūrima mentī fēmineae nātūra dedit.” 13 Pygmalion writes the mens feminae off as corrupt by

nature, but maintains a burning passion for the female figure14. Pygmalion is constantly

harassing the form of his sculpture and, what is truly revealing, when she begins to animate,

“admovet ōs iterum, manibus quoque pectora temptat.”15 He has no regard or respect for the

13
10.244-245
14
“operisque suī concēpit amōrem” (10.249)
15
10.282
female mind at all; he only seeks a woman that lacks a mind16 to trouble him. This attitude is

reflected in the other myths, the rapists/assaulters are never interested in the woman’s mind;

they seek only the pleasures offered by her body.

As much as they fetishize the female body, they conversely treat it disposably. The myth

of Perimele is a prime example of this. When her father discovers she is no longer a virgin,

“quod pater Hippodamās aegrē tulit inque profundum prōpulit ē scopulō peritūrae corpora

nātae.”17 Hippodamas does not value his daughter beyond the use of her virginity to his

advantage, so the loss of that virginity is, to him, the loss of his daughter. The language

describing the sexual encounter between Perimele and Achelous—“ego virgineum dīlēctae

nōmen adēmī”—is ambiguous.18 Ademi could refer to a consensual exchange, or it could refer

to the virginity being taken forcefully. Regardless, ademi conveys the perceived loss of value

caused by the absence of her virginity. Thus, Perimele becomes disposable to Hippodamas.

Again, Io’s reception by her father19 also provides a similar example for women to empathize

over this objectification and sense of disposability.

The treatment of the mutilation of Philomela and Itys provides similar insight on ancient

attitudes towards the female body, and likewise provides further room for empathizing. Just as

was mentioned before, the mutilation of Itys overshadows the mutilation and rape of

Philomela, even for the modern audience. This would be doubly so for the ancient audience,

which devalued female bodies (as shown previously) and sanctified dead bodies. The myth

16
Ovid is vague about the animation of Pygmalion’s sculpture—intentionally so, as he wants to create doubt
in his readers minds as to what degree she received a mind or a free will.
17
8.593-594
18
8.592
19
His concern over marrying her rather than attempting to comfort her.
leads its audience to value the mutilated and raped, yet still living, body of Philomela less than

the dead body of Itys—a clear message of disposability. The feeling of disposability expressed

here is subtle enough and masked well enough by the distastefulness of the acts against Itys

that it suggests the myth originated from women, rather than men. Specifically, women who

had suffered, or had known others that had suffered, these feelings and situations.

All the evidence outlined above points towards the two conclusions touched upon in the

introduction. These myths existed before Ovid, and though he records them in the

Metamorphoses with his own words, the main events follow tradition. What caused these

myths to be should now be clear: they came about as the result of sexual assaults suffered by

ancient women, and were used to provide empathy. Sure, they may be taken as simple

aetiologies, but they are nuanced enough to suggest that not to be the case. Though nature

could have been the muse of their creation (and certainly impacts the myths), their infusion

with gritty, dreary tales of sexual assault supports their roots in reality. The abundant

opportunities for empathy and crushing believability further support that women were the first

tellers of these myths. The male assaulters in these myths go relatively unpunished, and though

that might suggest male originators, the fact that they must rape/assault these women to fulfill

their desires counteracts this (they put in more effort than they would have to if the women

were coming to them). The men go unpunished because that was more empathize-able, due to

the unfortunate truth that most assaulted women would have experienced their

rapists/assaulters getting off the hook just the same.

Ovid may not have created these myths himself, but his diction shows a clear

understanding and sympathy for the cause they promote. He likewise does an ample job
selecting specific issues to emphasize in each myth. In Io, he does not linger on the rape itself,

but focuses on the effects of its aftermath. In Philomela, he fleshes out the brutality of the rape

in excruciating detail (e.g. “rādīx micat ultima linguae, ipsa iacet terraeque tremēns

immurmurat ātrae, utque salīre solet mutilātae cauda colubrae, palpitat et moriēns dominae

vestīgia quaerit.”)20 while also, beforehand, weaving in layers of trust to be broken (in a sense

another form of brutality). In Pygmalion, he repeatedly expresses Pygmalion’s objectification

and fetishization of women via tempto.21 Finally, in Perimele, he is intentionally ambiguous with

ademi to emphasize that—more or less—it does not matter whether Perimele was raped; Ovid

wishes to make a point against the patriarchal valuing of virginity (and twin devaluing of the

female body) via Hippodamas’ reaction. 22 Ovid shows that Hippodamas would have thrown her

off the cliff if she willingly had sex, and likewise if she had sex unwillingly.

20
6.557-560
21
10.245, 10.282, 10.283, 10.289
22
8.592
Works Cited

Ovid. Metamorphoses. Hugo Magnus. Gotha (Germany). Friedr. Andr. Perthes. 1892.