At the time of Livy, the Republic 's golden age has passed and his writings often reflect on these core Roman values, as he believes that the Rome of his time had lost its morality and uses his writings as ways to learn from the past. Livy portrays these acts of sexual violence against women as a parallel to the time he is writing, throughout these two cases sexual violence acts as a catalyst for change in Rome to unseat immorality and reinstill as sense of morality and values in Rome.
The story of Lucretia, takes place at a pivotal time in early Roman history. Rome at this time had lived through seven kings, and was living under the rule of what be their last. The narrative begins with a debate between Sextus Tarquinius, the son of the king, and Collatinus over who had the better wife. In order to settle the dispute they decide to drop in on both of their wives. When they arrive at Collantinus’s home