Men and women facing martyrdom : are they depicted differently in the martyrial texts of the first centuries?

Abstract

Texts recounting the martyrdom of Christians abound in the first four centuries, presenting as main characters males and females indiscriminately. While accounts of single martyrs are generally dedicated to men, generally soldiers or presbyters (like the Martyrium Polycarpi, the Acta Cypriani, the Acta Phileae and the Acta Maximiliani), women feature in brighter light in accounts of group martyrs (such as the Martyrium Lugdunensium) while sometimes we find accounts where the protagonists are women (like the Passio Perpetuae et Felicitatis). Even though the martyrs share in the same glory equally, the way men and women are presented when facing impending doom is at times different and stereotyped. Men are generally the ones who enter in dialogue with the pagan authority about their faith, while women are generally those who keep silent and simply acknowledge that they are Christians. Women, however, being the “weaker sex” are usually the protagonists of terrible trials and tortures, confirming biblical verses such as “I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties; for when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor 12,10) and “I can do all this through him who gives me strength” (Phil 4,13). It turns out that women, much more than men, are then gifted with visions that give them more power to face death. Taking into account some of these martyrial texts this paper seeks to delve into the stereotypes generally used by authors when speaking of men and women who are about to die a violent death.