# Did the Romans really train apes to rape women? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 2, 2009, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-romans-really-train-apes-to-rape-women/484071 "2009-02-02T03:07:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-romans-really-train-apes-to-rape-women/484071/81 "2009-02-04T19:16:16Z")
> [@kidchameleon](#): > > The US supported a Roman government that trained apes to rape Pinochet’s dog? Time to move to Canada. Eh, the dog was asking for it. Going around without pants and all. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-romans-really-train-apes-to-rape-women/484071/82 "2009-02-04T19:38:18Z")
If there are no photos then it never happened. (And, just to pre-empt the case, if photos do surface they are probably fake but if they are proven to be genuine they are not what they appear to be, it was just frat-house horse-play.) ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-romans-really-train-apes-to-rape-women/484071/83 "2009-02-04T19:47:11Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > I didn’t “blame” you, I simply said it was disingenuous. > > You saw many definitions that supported my assertion, but kept searching until you found one that supported yours (even though it qualifies its definition with “In the most general sense…”). > It seems obvious to me that you don’t care about the truth of the matter and just want to win the argument and out-pedant me. You saidThe word “monkey” means old or new world monkey, and explicitly excludes apes. Look in any dictionary you like.That is a statement that is easy to confirm or not. I went to a popular dictionary website and looked up “monkey”. One of the dictionaries (and _Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary_ is well-known) lists a formal zoological definition (“general sense” does not mean casual or informal) that disproves your claim that “any” dictionary would agree with you. There’s nothing disingenuous about verifying a claim, especially when you asked us to. The truth of the matter is, that in a biological context, “monkey” is sometimes used to include apes. And this is the SDMB where pedantry is a virtue. Expect it. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-romans-really-train-apes-to-rape-women/484071/84 "2009-02-04T19:51:53Z")
Yes, but is a tomato a fruit or a vegetable? That’s the crux of the matter. How about a cucumber? Can a woman be raped by a trained cucumber? ---
**Author:** ![JR\_Brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JR\_Brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JR_Brown)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-romans-really-train-apes-to-rape-women/484071/85 "2009-02-04T20:29:08Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > In response to your point, I’ve never seen dogs at it, but I believe that the male is locked in place by his penis, which swells up within the female, and then the male swings a leg over so they’re back to back. [link](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canine_reproduction) I’m not sure why I can’t pass this by without correcting (in fact I’m not sure why I’m reading this thread…), but dogs do indeed do it “doggy style”. The “tie” happens after ejaculation and is thought to prevent other males from mating until the first male’s sperm has had time to fertilize the female’s eggs. It is not required for either ejaculation or conception; depending on the relative sizes of the participants (eg, large female/small male), it may not happen at all. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-romans-really-train-apes-to-rape-women/484071/86 "2009-02-04T22:00:29Z")
Thank you. My question has been answered several times over. I had a feeling Cassius has just humoring the local chieftan, but wanted to confirm it. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-romans-really-train-apes-to-rape-women/484071/87 "2009-02-04T22:02:35Z")
> [@](#): > > How about a cucumber? Can a woman be raped by a trained cucumber? I’ll ask for photographic evidence on this one. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-romans-really-train-apes-to-rape-women/484071/88 "2009-02-04T22:28:10Z")
> [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](#): > > There’s no specific Latin word that I know of that means rape (in the English sense) in every instance, but there are certainly words that are used, at least occasionally, to denote forced sexual intercourse. AFAIK, the most common meaning of _constuprare_ is “to violate sexually”. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-romans-really-train-apes-to-rape-women/484071/89 "2009-02-04T22:32:03Z")
Thread closed at the request of the OP. **Gfactor** General Questions Moderator [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-romans-really-train-apes-to-rape-women/484071.md?page=4)