Fallite Fallentes: Rape and Intertextuality in Terence’s Eunuchus and Ovid’s Ars amatoria

Abstract

This paper argues for a dense and systematic intertextual relationship between Ovid’s Ars amatoria Book 1 and Terence’s Eunuchus. The attitude of the praeceptor Amoris toward meretrices, the target women of the Ars, is found in all the male characters of the play, from neuter pronouns (quod) used for them to resentment at the expenses required for their company to the belief that rape of meretrices is justified. The praeceptor’s lessons on deception (Ars 1.631-658) and rape (659-706) draws heavily on the rape plot of Eunuchus. From fallite fallentes (645) to the exemplum of the rape of Deidamia by Achilles (681-704), this passage takes plot and language from Chaerea, the young adulescens who rapes Pamphila, the foster sister of the meretrix Thais. The painting of Jupiter and Danae in Pamphila’s bedroom offers a model for the Deidamia-Achilles tale, and Achilles’ role as a model for the male pupil of the Ars further justify rape of women who have no physical, social, or legal recourse. Through his persistent intertextual engagement with Terence’s play, Ovid exposes male privilege and resentment toward meretrices.