#MeToo in Ancient Greek Art: Analyzing the Language Used to Describe Ancient Greek Images of Assault Against Women in Art History Textbooks

Art history textbooks including Classical Greek art are rife with images of women in situations of sexual and other forms of physical violence and assault. In this study, I analyze the language used to describe these works of art in art history textbooks. While understanding of these artworks would benefit greatly from both formal and contextual analysis, most descriptions of these works focus on the formal elements of line, color, and composition, as well as the artistic prowess of the individual artist, while virtually ignoring the historical context that informs the subject matter of these works. This has the effect of normalizing these violent assaults against women. In light of the prominence of sexual assault and violence against women across college campuses in the United States, in addition to the current #MeToo movement, it is essential for us to reconsider the language used to describe such works while also emphasizing the context from which such works arise—in this case, a well-documented patriarchal society that glorified passive women and, sometimes, acts of violence against them. Only in this way can we continue to teach about these art historically important works without inadvertently normalizing the violence depicted