CW: The accounts of Verginia include paedophilic desire, violence against women
The story of Verginia is an achingly tragic tale central to understanding the Second Decemvirate. Both Livy and Dionysius of Halicarnassus go into some detail about what happens and how it unfolds and we'll explore both accounts to compare and contrast them.
Episode 114 – The Tale of Verginia
Dr Rad takes us through the complexities of thinking about Livy's context and how that might influence his presentation of the material. Dr G explores the connection between the Latin term virgo (virgin) and her name Verginia. There's plenty of parallels that will emerge between Verginia's story and the story of Lucretia, whose fate seals the demise of the Roman monarchy.
Verginia is the daughter of a well-known centurion who is fighting on one of Rome's frontiers. But conflict emerges when Appius Claudius decides that he wants her for himself. He seems heedless to reason or morality when it comes to Verginia and this leads him to engage in a set of behaviours that are appalling.
Verginia's story is one that involves a number of strange and dangerous concepts:
Additional music and sound in this episode includes an original composition for our podcast by the fabulous Bettina Joy de Guzman
Heinrich Friedrich Fuger – The Death of Virginia.
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons user Jbribeiro1
For our full show notes and edited transcripts, head on over to https://partialhistorians.com/
Support the show
Read our books
Your Cheeky Guide to the Roman Empire
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
