The rape of the Sabine women : Ovid Ars Amatoria, Book I: 101-134

M.A.In this dissertation I aim to establish how Ovid uses the Rape of the Sabine Women, part of the foundation myth of Rome, in the Ars Amatoria I: 101-134 to maintain or restructure male-female relationships within Roman patriarchal society. Furthermore, Ovid's legacy in the Middle Ages and our modem society is briefly looked at. This myth tells that Romulus and his men had a shortage of women in their city as they were not considered suitable husbands by the men of the surrounding tribes. In response to the ridicule of their neighbours, Romulus held a celebration of the Consualia at which he and his men seized the Sabine maidens, who would later become their wives. A semiotic approach is used to understand how Ovid viewed existing male-female relationships and to what end he would like to restructure them. Ovid understood the strength of this myth and retold it in order to persuade his audience of his argument. In these lines Ovid explained to the student-lover how and why to meet a woman at the Theatre. Through the comparison of the ancient and the contemporary, his use of certain words and figures of speech, Ovid attempted to convince his audience of the effectiveness of the art of love he promoted: a contract of agreement between two willing partners created by persuasion rather than force. He displayed an amazing understanding of the human psyche, as well as the violent, angry nature of rape. Ovid's novel approach has affected authors of the Middle Ages, among them Geoffrey Chaucer, artists of the 'heroic rape' genre and can even be discussed in relation to modem rape myths and the modern concept of equity between the sexes introduced in the Ars already. His style and subject matter has caused the analysis of his work to be highly debated among many modem scholars. It is my conclusion that Ovid wrote the Ars Amatoria with the intention of restructuring male-female relationships in Roman society, promoting a movement away from violence and unfulfilling relationships, typical of the Roman marriage tradition. His work was so far reaching that he did not only create a stir among his contemporaries, but instead he influenced the development of the male-female relationship and interaction over centuries