[railton]

He also points out in this post that rape was so common there's an entire, identifiable social class of Spartan bastards (_nothoi_ / _mothakes_).

> But we don’t need to guess or rely on comparative evidence, because this rape was happening frequently enough that it produced an identifiable social class. The one secure passage we have to this effect is from Xenophon, who notes that the Spartan army marching to war included a group he calls the nothoi – the bastards (Xen. Hell. 5.3.9). The phrase typically means – and here clearly means – boys born to slave mothers.

[neolog]

Is that suggesting that all "bastards"' mothers were raped?

[krageon]

When you're a slave, you don't have a choice about what happens to you. If you cannot refuse, you cannot consent. That makes it rape, yes.