Women in Justin: investigation into the presentation of female characters in Justin's Epitome of Pompeius Trogus' Philippic Histories

The intention of this thesis is to examine the depiction of certain women in Justin's Epitome of the Philippic Histories of Pempeius Trogus. Specific themes of deception and disguise, mother-love and the afterglow of glory via male relatives, are identified with most of the depictions of these women. How Justin interprets Trogus is another issue. Did the epitomator simply compress a voluminous historical account into a selective digest or did he believe he was producing a work of his own? It is a reasonable proposition that both men were influenced by the morality, social mores and politics of their times. In ancient literature the tradition of temptress and betrayer in the disparate genres of the Biblical Eve and Greek myth's Pandora have coloured and blurred the perception of feminine merits and failings. In the Epitome the mythology of female duplicity is speedily expressed in the picture of the dazzling figure of Semiramis. The presentation of the royal Argead women is important in sustaining the on-going theme of mother-love and the motif of women able to achieve glory only in the reflection of male relatives' deeds. The theme of mother-love is most evident in the relationship between Alexander and Olympias. While others, in their ambition for power, are shown as useless and the antithesis of feminine rectitude, one woman is lauded in the Epitome. Theoxena is loyal to her husband until his last breath is drawn. Here is a clear indication of the standards of womanly behaviour set by Trogus and his epitomator.