Sixteenth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

Contained in the middle part of the Apocryphal Acts of Andrew (ca. 300 CE) the tale of Maximilla’s deceit disrupts prevailing social and religious norms. When Maximilla, the wife of the proconsul Aegeates, is overtaken by the Christian preaching of Andrew, she converts and attempts to live in a state of virginity by paying her slave, Euclia, to serve as a surrogate sexual partner to her husband. Maximilla’s intentional manipulation of Euclia’s physical beauty, and Euclia’s willing acceptance of her own sexual objectification, enable Maximilla’s spiritual growth. Furthermore, why does the text advance the actions of both women as non-competing manifestations of the good only to be denounced when Euclia is overcome by greed and boasting after eight months of service? Aegeates’ reaction to Maximilla’s deceit unleashes fatal violence against the bodies of Euclia and Andrew: severe torture strips the exterior, physical beauty of Euclia, whereas crucifixion symbolically decries the interior, spiritual beauty of Andrew. Maximilla lives to witness these heinous acts of martyrdom committed under the rage of Aegeates. Remaining steadfast in her Christian faith, she buries the body of Andrew before leaving her husband permanently. Why is Maximilla spared? How are we to interpret the havoc wreaked by these women? A response is located in an exploration of freedom and servitude of action in this Roman wives’ tale.