Perpetua: Athlete of God PDF
Preview Perpetua: Athlete of God
ii WOMEN IN ANTIQUITY Cleopatra A Biography Duane W. Roller Clodia Metelli The Tribune’s Sister Marilyn B. Skinner Galla Placidia The Last Roman Empress Hagith Sivan Arsinoë of Egypt and Macedon A Royal Life Elizabeth Donnelly Carney Berenice II and the Golden Age of Ptolemaic Egypt Dee L. Clayman Faustina I and II Imperial Women of the Golden Age Barbara M. Levick Turia A Roman Woman’s Civil War Josiah Osgood Monica An Ordinary Saint Gillian Clark Theodora Actress, Empress, Saint David Potter Hypatia The Life and Legend of an Ancient Philosopher Edward Watts Boudica Warrior Women of Roman Britain Sabina Augusta Corey T. Brennan Sabina Augusta An Imperial Journey Corey T. Brennan Cleopatra’s Daughter And Other Royal Women of the Augustan Era Duane W. Roller Perpetua Athlete of God Barbara K. Gold P E R P E T U A AT H L E T E O F G O D Barbara K. Gold 1 iv 1 Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and certain other countries. Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America. © Oxford University Press 2018 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above. You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer. CIP data is on file at the Library of Congress ISBN 978– 0– 19– 538545– 8 1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2 Printed by Sheridan Books, Inc., United States of America Contents Preface vii Introduction 1 1 Perpetua’s Passio: Text, Authorship, Authenticity 9 2 And I Became Male: Gender and the Athlete 23 3 A Matter of Genre and Influence: the Passio and Greco- Roman Pagan and Christian Narratives 47 4 Carthage: Pagan Culture, Religion, and Society in the High Roman Empire 67 5 Carthage: The Early Christian Community 83 6 Perpetua’s Life: Family (Natal and Christian), Education, and Social Status 103 7 The Conditions of Martyrdom in the High Roman Empire 121 8 The Nachleben of Perpetua: Her Unwitting Legacy 141 Appendix 165 Notes 175 Bibliography 223 Index Locorum 241 Subject Index 247 vi Preface I have been living with Perpetua now for several years, and it has often been a frustrating relationship. There are so many unanswerable questions and so few sources of information. When the editors of the se- ries and at Oxford University Press first extended the invitation to write a book on Perpetua, it was proposed that I write her biography. I soon realized that a biography was impossible because we know so little about her life. We have one short chapter in which the editor of her narrative tells us a few things about her (Vibia Perpetua was “well- born, educated in the manner of a free person, and married in a respectable fashion”). And we have the part of the narrative that is by Perpetua— if it really is by Perpetua— in which we hear of her visions and about her father and small child. Apart from her own narrative, everything about her is written by others, mostly men, who have sought to remodel her into the Perpetua they wished her to be. Thus writing this volume has been a lengthy and difficult journey, one in which I have received much help from others in a variety of ways. When I was first starting to think about Perpetua, I went to Tunisia and was privileged to be a visitor to a group there for a seminar on Perpetua led by Thomas Heffernan. It was illuminating and inspiring not only to see the places where she might have lived and died but also to benefit from the company of people there like Tom Heffernan, Kate Cooper, Candida Moss, Stephanie Cobb, and many others. I have since taught Perpetua in seminars, given many talks on her at various conferences and universities, and had the benefit of learning from the many people I have encountered at my own institution and at other colleges and universities. My colleague, Nancy Rabinowitz, has been listening to me talk about Perpetua and responding with helpful thoughts for far viii too long. Judith Perkins, through her writings and in conversation, has helped me think through whether Perpetua really existed or wrote this narrative at all. James Rives has been an enormous help with his many fine suggestions and his patience answering my emails. Brent Shaw, both in his writings and his visit to my senior seminar, has added greatly to my understanding of Perpetua. I give special thanks to the editors of this series, Ronnie Ancona and Sarah Pomeroy, for extending the invitation to write this book; also my thanks go to the editor at Oxford University Press, Stefan Vranka, who prodded me when I needed it and waited patiently for me to finish. Finally I want to dedicate my book to some of the strong women in my life of whom Perpetua would be proud: Annabel Calvo Gold, Dana Calvo, and Mary Agnes Perpetua Eileen Doyle Zénon. And to the men in my family, who have always supported and encouraged brave and strong women: my husband Carl, and my son and Annie’s father, Scott Gold. They would never have tried to remake Perpetua. Barbara K. Gold October 2017 viii Preface Map: Roman Africa (after J. B. Rives, Religion and Authority in Roman Carthage from Augustus to Constantine [Oxford: Clarendon, 1995], map 3), redrawn by OUP. x Map: The Territory of Roman Carthage (after J. B. Rives, Religion and Authority in Roman Carthage from Augustus to Constantine [Oxford: Clarendon, 1995], map 4), redrawn by OUP.
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