Luise Schottroff - 1 Corinthians

The perspective of the victimcan only be surmised. The following text by Apuleius (born 125 CE) comes from a novel. It recounts the fate of a man who through sorcery is turned into an ass. Despite its genre as a novel, the text offers valuable socio-historical information. The author provides an insight into the presentation of a violent game in Corinth. What is planned for the climax of the presentation is the public rape by an ass of a woman condemned to death, followed by her being torn to pieces by wild animals. The text provides the opportunity of pondering the perspective of the victim. 198The ass narrates (Book 10, excerpts):

But first I should do what I ought to have done in the first place and tell you now who my master was and where he was from. His name was Thiasus and he came from Corinth, the capital of the province of Achaea. As one would expect of a man of his birth and rank, he had passed through the different grades of office to the quinquennial magistracy; and to honour the occasion in a suitably brilliant manner and by way of displaying his munificence to the full he had undertaken to provide a three-day gladiatorial show. So eager indeed was he for popularity that he had been as far afield as Thessaly to procure wild beasts and celebrated gladiators, and now that he had acquired and arranged all he needed he was preparing to return to Corinth. 199

One sees here how expensive the games were and how connected they were with political offices. Corinth was a stronghold of the games. Apuleius continues, describing how one such event in Corinth played out. Back in Corinth:

… and decided to make a public exhibition of me. Since, however, my noble ›wife‹ was ineligible because of her rank, and nobody else could be found to take her place at any price, he brought in a degraded creature whom the governor had condemned to the beasts to prostitute her virtue with me in front of the people …

Now the day of the games had arrived, and l was led to the theatre in ceremonial procession, escorted by crowds of people. While the show was being formally inaugurated by a troupe of professional dancers, I was left for a while outside the gate, where I had the pleasure of cropping the lush grass which was growing in the entrance.

At the same time, as the gates were left open, I was able to feast my eyes on the very pretty sight inside.

First I saw boys and girls in the very flower of their youth, handsome and beautifully dressed, expressive in their movements, who were grouping themselves to perform a pyrrhic dance in Greek style. In the graceful mazes of their ballet they now danced in a circle, now joined hands in a straight line, now formed a hollow square, now divided into semi-choruses. Then a trumpet-call signalled an end to their complicated manoeuvres and symmetrical interweavings, the curtain was raised and the screens folded back to reveal the stage.

Preparations are made for the show’s climax:

Now, in response to the demands of the crowd, a soldier came out and along the street to fetch the woman who, as I said, had for her series of crimes been condemned to the beasts and was to partner me in these brilliant nuptials of ours. Already what was to be our marital bed was being lovingly made up, an affair of polished Indian tortoiseshell, heaped high with cushions stuffed with down and bright with silken coverlets. Apart from the shame of having to do this act in public, and apart from the pollution of contact with this loathsome and detestable woman, I was in acute and grievous fear for my life. For I thought: there we should be, locked together in a loving embrace, and whatever animal

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