Rhode (Hermas)
Rhode (in ancient Greek: Ῥόδη) or the young woman (in ancient Greek: κόρη) is a Christian who is one of the main characters in the Greek and Christian novel known as The Shepherd of Hermas. Her name and historical existence are far from certain.
Novel
[edit]Onomastic issues
[edit]The name of this character is difficult to restore because it is located in a lacuna in the surviving manuscripts of the text.[1] When the novel was discovered by Adolf Hilgenfeld in the 19th century, he proposed the reading Ῥόδη (Rhódē) in the lacuna and thus attributed this name to the character.[1] However, in more recent times, this reading has been questioned; the lacunar passage does not seem to give an obvious name.[1] More recent scholars have proposed the reading κόρη (kórē) instead, which means "young woman".[1]
Narrative of the novel
[edit]In The Shepherd of Hermas, she is presented as a former mistress of Hermas, her former slave,[2] whom she supposedly freed.[3][4][5] However, if the lacuna is restored differently, she would not be his former mistress but a fellow slave.[1] In any case, in The Shepherd, as in other Ancient Greek novels,[1] this female character is central.[4] In the story, the wandering Hermas encounters her, naked, bathing, and desires her.[4][5][6] This initial sin is the catalyst for the novel, with Hermas subsequently receiving visions, including from Rhode, never named as such,[1] urging him to repent.[4][5]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g Castelli, Emanuele (January 2022). "Le début originel du Pasteur d'Hermas: Une enquête" [The Original Beginning of the Shepherd of Hermas: An Investigation]. Apocrypha (in French). 33: 167–183. doi:10.1484/J.APOCRA.5.134683.
- ^ Weiss, Alexander (31 December 2009). "Hermas' 'Biography'". Ancient Society. 39: 185–202. doi:10.2143/AS.39.0.2042611.
- ^ Bentein, Klaas (2015). "The Greek of the Fathers". The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Patristics. pp. 456–470. doi:10.1002/9781118438671.ch31. ISBN 978-1-118-43871-8.
- ^ a b c d Hall, Edith; Proffitt, Laura; Alston, Richard, eds. (2011). Reading Ancient Slavery. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 978-0-7156-3868-2.[page needed]
- ^ a b c Smith, Chris H (2022). Singles in the Family of God: An Ecclesial Account of Unmarried Devotion (Thesis). ProQuest 2684996126.[page needed]
- ^ Quispel, G.; Oort, J. Van (2008). "Chapter Forty-Six. The Holy Spirit as woman in Apocalypse 12". Gnostica, Judaica, Catholica. Collected Essays of Gilles Quispel. pp. 749–752. doi:10.1163/ej.9789004139459.i-870.234. ISBN 978-90-04-13945-9.
