Perpetua's Passion: The Death and Memory of a Young Roman Woman

by Joyce E. Salisbury

Perpetua's Passion studies the third-century martyrdom of a young woman and places it in the intellectual and social context of her age. Conflicting ideas of religion, family and gender are explored as Salisbury follows Perpetua from her youth in a wealthy Roman household to her imprisonment and death in the arena.

Genres: Religion, History, Biography, Nonfiction, Historical, Christian

242 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Professor Emerita of Humanistic Studies (History)University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.

Reviews

[Lora Shouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title of this book is somewhat misleading. If you grew up Catholic and spent half your life reading the lives of saints and the like, you probably knew that Perpetua was a Christian martyr. (I didn’t realize this; apparently it has been too long since I added this book to my list). Although her family had likely been Roman citizens for many generations, and her father was probably high-ranking in the municipal province, she actually lived and was martyred in Carthage in North Africa.

Unlike most martyrs, especially female martyrs of the time, Perpetua kept a diary while she was imprisoned. The author includes the translation of what we have of this diary in the text, including the eyewitness account of the person to whom she entrusted the diary of the actual arena experience and death of Perpetua and the group of martyrs of which she was a part. The book itself is not long, and the portion occupied by the diary is even smaller.

The author discusses at length the background of the martyrdom, including the conflicting religious and political currents of the time, that influenced both Perpetua and her friends and the government of the province under the emperor Septimus Severus. She also tells of the history of Carthage and how this history encouraged a view of suicide as self-sacrifice for the good of the country. There seem to have been a generous number of Christian martyrs in Carthage and the rest of North Africa between the second and fourth centuries.

There is also a discussion of the Christian community at the time of Perpetua’s martyrdom, and what martyrdom meant both to Perpetua and her friends at the time of her death and to Christians in later ages.

This is a very scholarly and well-researched book.

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I initially read this history as part of a Medieval Women Writers class, and I picked it up again recently after wondering if I would have the courage to stand up for my beliefs under threat of violence. I don't know the answer to that still, but Saint Perpetua's story gives me a lot to think about. Joyce Salisbury interprets the diary that Perpetua, a 3rd century Carthaginian Christian, wrote in prison while waiting to be sacrificed to the arena beasts for the crime of refusing to perform ritual sacrifice for the Roman emperor.

I would recommend this history even to those who aren't "into history." The author writes in a clear, direct way, and her passion for the subject shines through. She writes in the Introduction , "A question that has always troubled me as I have studied the past is simply 'What were they thinking?'...I wanted to try to understand the mentality that would allow someone to walk confidently into an arena knowing that he or she would die violently."

[Melody Schwarting · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid undergraduate-level introduction to Perpetua and her co-martyrs. Unfortunately for Salisbury, the field of early Christian studies has moved on significantly in the 20+ years since Perpetua's Passion was published, especially regarding female martyrdom, so some of the research here is a bit outdated. Some of her conclusions about Perpetua seem a bit far-fetched, while others are more reasonable. Overall, Perpetua's Passion provides a good general background to the martyrdom account. What's missing is the text itself; while quoted at length, it's not provided in full.

[Don Siegrist · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not what I expected (thankfully). I thought the book would focus on the heroine's exhortations about Jesus/God but instead the author uses Perpetua's martyrdom as a platform to discuss everyday life as well as the role of religion in the Roman Empire. The author argues that human sacrifice may have come easily to the early Christian martyrs as it was part and parcel of life at that time. If you believed in the pagan gods and their desire for sacrifices in order to obtain their favor, then you considered it an honor and willingly committed yourself or your children to death. Hard to fathom but apparently true. As such it was an easy transition to self sacrifice as a Christian martyr. Christians believed martyrdom was God's will and looked forward to it, similar to todays Islamic terrorists.

Salisbury makes a compelling case that Christianity did not emerge fully formed but pulled ideas and traditions from Roman, Egyptian and Greek pagan ideas and of course Judaism. Of particular interest was the change in the church once it became the established religion of the Roman Empire. Gone was the fanaticism that emphasised prophesy, speaking in tongues and martyrdom. Now salvation came not from the visible presence of the Holy Spirit in the congregation but through obedience to ecclesiastical authority. Sounds very similar to the present day distinction between Protestantism and Catholicism.

[Gabrielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this from the library because Prof. Salisbury is the lecturer on my favorite Great Courses series (Warriors, Queens, and Intellectuals: 36 Great Women Before 1400–get into it). This book was great in my opinion. I’m sure it would not be groundbreaking for a graduate-level history scholar, but I know very little about the early Church despite being raised Catholic. This gave great insight into the culture and time period which would have influenced Perpetua and her companions’ decisions to become martyrs (a thing I always thought was silly—just lie and say you’re not a Christian? Like why let the Romans kill you? Live to Christian another day, diva.). But this actually helped me understand why that might have made sense to her. The discussion of Roman religion being so spatially defined and Christianity being a departure from that was fascinating. And, as always, Augustine sucks.

[Bri Reay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chapter one of Women Writers of the Middle Ages: A Critical Study of Texts from Perpetua (203) to Marguerite Porete (1310) starts off by introducing Vibia Perpetua, a woman of good fortune, family, and marriage living in Carthage in AD 203. She was roughly around twenty-two when she was arrested for refusing to perform a compulsory Roman sacrifice in honor of the emperor. At the time of her arrest, Perpetua was a new mother who was breastfeeding her young infant. She was put to death on March 7 for refusing to renounce her Christian faith, and was soon recognized as an early church martyr of the Christian faith. With her was her young maidservant, Felicity, who was pregnant at the time. Felicity went to prison with Perpetua and also refused to renounce her own Christian faith. Promptly after giving birth to her own young child, the two were ushered into the arena, where they were brutally tortured and put to death. Perpetua, after being beaten, trampled by bulls, and tortured ended up taking her own life with a Roman soldier’s sword by forcing him to drive it into her own throat.
Chapter one continues to show examples of Perpetua’s writings which were recorded in her journal during her time in incarceration. In one of these writings, she wrote “I breast-fed my child, who was already weak with hunger. Anxiously, I spoke to my mother about him, I consoled my brother, I gave them charge of my son” (p. 2).1 She continues to write about her experience with God while she is held prisoner, speaking about the visions that she receives from God, then continues to praise God, even in the midst of her struggles with her concern for her child and the rest of her family. Dronke continues to reflect on her relationship with her father, who stated “I favored you above all your brothers,”1 then Dronke summarizes that her father was claiming her with a “possessive love”1 (p. 4-5). He then provides a brief run-down of Perpetua’s reasoning for being called a Christian, meaning that she follows the authority of her new name, and if her father cannot accept his daughter Perpetua, he will gain a perpetual daughter.
Joyce Salisbury also writes about Perpetua’s life and journey to martyrdom in the book Perpetua’s Passion: The Death and Memory of a Young Roman Woman. In chapter four of this book, Salisbury writes about Perpetua’s journey in prison. In addition to what has been previously stated about Perpetua, Salisbury reiterates the struggle that Perpetua had with her worry over her young son, as well as the pain in losing the relationship with her father. However, this book provides a clearer picture of what happened during her imprisonment when it says that “she requested and received permission to have the baby stay with her in prison”2 (p. 87). Furthermore, Perpetua not only cared for her son in prison by having him stay with her, but according to this text, she possibly imagined herself dying with her son2 (p. 89).
Salisbury continues to explain the trial that Perpetua and her fellow Christians are faced with. In this trial, Hilarianus poses many questions about her duty to her father, her duty to her son, and to her people. He tries to get Perpetua to perform the sacrifice to the emperor out of pity for her son2 (p. 90). When she refuses even after being faced with the guilt and scorn about her choices regarding her family, Hilarianus poses the deadly question. “Are you a Christian?” to which she promptly and boldly replies, “Yes, I am a Christian”2 (p. 90). Due to this, Hilarianus sentences the group of Christians to be sent to the arena, which Salisbury theorizes that it is because “Hilarianus had a contest in the arena in mind when he arrested the group”2 (p. 91).
As I was reading, I was overcome with a sense of pure awe in Perpetua’s strength. I found the writing of both books to be interesting, and I enjoyed how the authors not only analyzed her writings, but also dove into Perpetua’s life and background in order to gain a better understanding of the woman who wrote this. I felt compelled to read more about Perpetua, and I found myself fighting with the urge to shake her, yet hug her at the same time. To think that this young woman, only two years older than I am right now, had the strength to let go of everything that she had ever known in order to sacrifice her own life for her beliefs causes me to wonder what I would do in that situation. If I was a new mother with a nursing infant, I would like to think that I would do everything in my power to ensure my child’s safety and wellbeing. To think about the pain that this poor young mother underwent to stand up for her faith fills me with so much conviction. The strength and faith that she must have possessed is astounding.
As a young woman who feels so drawn to care for young children, the thought of losing even one of these children who are not even my own fills me with pain. To think that this young mother had to watch as her baby was growing weaker due to malnutrition because she was unable to feed him as often as he needed breaks my heart. Not only this, but she then had to die knowing that her poor, sweet baby would have to grow up without his mother, a figure that is so desperately needed in any person as they grow into adulthood. The author does so well in conveying the pain that Perpetua must have felt.
Furthermore, the Dronke does a fantastic job in portraying the relationship between Perpetua and her father, as he integrated quotes from Perpetua’s writings and went deeper into them. I am a huge Daddy’s Girl, so as I read this, I was able to place myself in Perpetua’s shoes more easily and picture my own father instead of hers. As the author described the pure love that her father had for Perpetua, it made my heart constrict in pain at the thought that the poor father only wanted to save his only daughter’s life. To him, it was hard to understand why she refused to renounce her faith. He could not fathom the thought of losing his baby girl.
I found both Women Writers of the Middle Ages and Perpetua’s Passion to be incredibly informative, yet interesting in the way the authors conveyed their own passion and interest in her story. Both authors did a fantastic job in accurately getting Perpetua’s story and heart onto paper. They both provided factual evidence that supported their own views, but also supported their claims about Perpetua’s life in imprisonment, before imprisonment, and her death. I would highly recommend reading both of these books if you are interested in Perpetua’s story, as well as other influential women writers from the middle ages. Perpetua’s story and faith is truly something to be admired and looked up to.

[Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A useful synthesis for the general reader, with some caveats. That is to say, Salisbury's text needs to be read with a bit of caution. She does a solid job of summarizing what historical and contextual data there is for the Carthaginian Christian community. Where the narrative goes astray at times is in its too-urgent insistence that a general trend within Carthaginian history or society must always be picked up in the narrative of the martyrdom of Perpetua. In other words, Salisbury often resorts to history in the subjunctive mood: Perpetua 'must have thought' or 'must have known' or 'was very likely to have' done such and such. At these moments, Salisbury's book is at is weakest. At best, some of these connections are plausible; a franker acknowledgment of speculation would have been welcome. The bibliography is quite good, so if a reader wishes to plumb a little more deeply into the social or historical background of Perpetua and decide for themselves if Salisbury's conclusions are merited, they would be wise to do so.

[Kristie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book that recounts Perpetua's martyrdom. The first couple of chapters are laborious, to say the least. However, once you hit the primary source material you begin to shape an understanding of life in Rome during the Christian persecutions. The best section of this book for me was the final chapter. The insight into how her story was changed based on gender is a must read for women and for Christians. It allows for an insight into how the formation of the Church began and it's role in the persecution of women.

[Kaitlynn Esquibel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had to read this for a class in college. It was very interesting and not once did I find myself getting bored of the story. The story is about the early persecution of matrys of the Christian religion during ancient Greece times.

[Madison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to read this for a school conference project and I thoroughly enjoyed it, from the structure of historical presentation, to the story, to the prose. It was perfect for my project, and I love it when I'm not ~allergic~ to historian's voices.

[Rita · Rating 3 out of 5]

c 1997. Author born 1944
Bought this book many years ago after reading a review in the 1990s in the Women's Review of Books. Kept seeing it on my shelf and decided it was time to read it.

Coincidentally, our reading group's next book was JULIA, about the daughter of emperor Augustus, and though she lived nearly 200 years earlier, some of the Roman customs overlapped nicely.

A scholarly book that keeps to the facts; quite readable though one can't say it reads like a novel...

I was astounded to read that human sacrifice - including a period when MANY firstborn [boy] children were sacrificed -- was very common in Roman Carthage [though perhaps no longer, during Perpetua's time -- she was born around AD 180. Sacrificing what is considered most valuable was considered the best/safest way to 'buy' protection from the gods. Suddenly I see lots of parallels -- Abraham being asked to sacrifice his son; suicide bombers in modern times who die as heroes; of course bullfighters who are also heroes if they die; emperor Augustus exiling his daughter and many others, and having men/relatives killed who he suspected of disloyalty -- could that also have been perceived as a kind of cleansing sacrifice?


Goodreader Don Siegrist notes several of the fascinating ideas in this book:

"the author uses Perpetua's martyrdom as a platform to discuss everyday life as well as the role of religion in the Roman Empire. The author argues that human sacrifice may have come easily to the early Christian martyrs as it was part and parcel of life at that time. If you believed in the pagan gods and their desire for sacrifices in order to obtain their favor, then you considered it an honor and willingly committed yourself or your children to death. Hard to fathom but apparently true. As such it was an easy transition to self sacrifice as a Christian martyr. Christians believed martyrdom was God's will and looked forward to it, similar to todays Islamic terrorists.

Salisbury makes a compelling case that Christianity did not emerge fully formed but pulled ideas and traditions from Roman, Egyptian and Greek pagan ideas and of course Judaism. Of particular interest was the change in the church once it became the established religion of the Roman Empire. Gone was the fanaticism that emphasised prophesy, speaking in tongues and martyrdom. Now salvation came not from the visible presence of the Holy Spirit in the congregation but through obedience to ecclesiastical authority. Sounds very similar to the present day distinction between Protestantism and Catholicism."

[Rachel Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is generally interesting with its coverage of Roman, North African, and Christian history (besides the discussions on topics like dream history:). However, I was looking for a Christian perspective on Perpetua’s life, and, sadly, it was evident that the author was not a Christian, as she misrepresented (page 50), even discredited (page 67), the Bible at times. Since Perpetua is a catholic saint, I was hoping to find out more about her personal beliefs about salvation, but it was difficult to tell.

[Tim Tingo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I throughly enjoyed reading Perpetua’s Passion. It was extremely thought provoking and powerful. It will take some time for me to reconcile my feelings concerning the people and events. I love her/I despise her, she was a fool/a heroine, they had great faith/they were delusional, she was an example of unwavering commitment /she was a petulant attention seeking child, hmmmm

Joyce Salisbury is a gifted writer.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great commentary/exposition of the Martyrdom of Perpetua, analyzing the social and historical context of Perpetua and the society within which she would have lived. In addition, this book does a good job of analyzing the significance of this text for future generations--including the various ways male church authorities attempted to reinterpret the text of Perpetua's martyrdom to fit in line with their hierarchical view of gender. Its an interesting read and well worth your time if you've got some, so I definitely recommend that you check it out.

[Stephanie Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the story of the 3rd Century martyr, Perpetua. This book explains the story and diary of Perpetua according to the world she was brought up in. Fascinating read and great insight about Rome, Carthage and Christianity in the 3rd Century.

[Irene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scholarly and minutely detailed. The reader will become an expert on martyrdom in North Africa , second century. And one will also know more than you want to know on details of how Christians were "presented" to wild animals in the arena. Extensive Bibliography and references.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought the author did a really good job blending the text with her interpretation. The story was fascinating and I felt I understood the time period in which Perpetua lived. Very interesting...

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my professor at Univ of Wisconsin Green Bay so we discussed it in class too. Great insightful book about a woman history had forgotten

[Natalie Newell · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amazing story....

[Will Ecoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book, however liberal the author's intepretations might be.