Thecla Research Paper

(Thecla): “Now is the time for me to wash myself.” And she cast herself into the water, saying, “In the name of Jesus Christ I baptize myself for the last day.” And looking on, the women and all the crowd cried out saying, “Do not cast yourself into the water,” so that even the governor was weeping…

Just as the seals in the pool and the wild beasts came upon Thecla, a cloud of fire enclosed Thecla and prevented her from being harmed while also shielding her nakedness. At this moment, Thecla is working towards her transformation from a timid housewife to an apostle by way of baptism and has been anointed by God through God’s Shekinah glory. It is also at this point that the females in the crowd shower Thecla with herbs, spices, and an abundance of ointments. As will be acknowledged later in this paper, there are countless correlations to Biblical characters, including Jesus Christ. …show more content…
This horrific concept, which unfortunately was not fiction throughout Late Antiquity, was to rip the person’s legs apart by igniting the bulls’ genitalia on fire and having them run in opposite directions. Not only does this represent the ending of Thecla’s chastity, but also the completion of an act Alexander was unable to do himself. Steven Davies in his book Revolt of the Widows describes this event as sexual sadism; an event common to the colosseum. It is meant to be one final act of defilement against Thecla. And yet, as this is about to take place, Queen Tryphaena falls unconscious in disgust. Moreover, the fire branding meant for the bulls’ testicles burns the ropes which holds Thecla’s legs instead. God’s apparent divine intervention, the fainting of the Queen, and Thecla’s virtue saved her from death once again. To make matters worse for Alexander, it is reported that the Queen has