"Tue einer Fremden nicht Gewalt an, tue nicht der Magd Gottes Gewalt an!" (ActThecl 26). Frühchristliches Martyrium und Realgeschichte der Gewalt

Abstract

The Acts of Thecla, as part of the apocryphal Acts of Paul, present to us two re­ports of a woman’s martyrdom. The woman, named Thecla of Iconium was a famous person in the early Christian tradition. The present study tries to interpret Thecla’s story by refer­ence to the history of violence in antiquity. This interdisciplinary perspective is worthwhile and is also revealing astonishing facts.