Rhode (Hermas)

Rhode (in ancient Greek: Ῥόδη) or the young woman (in ancient Greek: κόρη) is a Christian who is one of the main characters in the Greek and Christian novel known as The Shepherd of Hermas. Her name and historical existence are far from certain.

Novel

Onomastic issues

The name of this character is difficult to restore because it is located in a lacuna in the surviving manuscripts of the text.[1] When the novel was discovered by Adolf Hilgenfeld in the 19th century, he proposed the reading Ῥόδη (Rhódē) in the lacuna and thus attributed this name to the character.[1] However, in more recent times, this reading has been questioned; the lacunar passage does not seem to give an obvious name.[1] More recent scholars have proposed the reading κόρη (kórē) instead, which means "young woman".[1]

Narrative of the novel

In The Shepherd of Hermas, she is presented as a former mistress of Hermas, her former slave,[2] whom she supposedly freed.[3][4][5] However, if the lacuna is restored differently, she would not be his former mistress but a fellow slave.[1] In any case, in The Shepherd, as in other Ancient Greek novels,[1] this female character is central.[4] In the story, the wandering Hermas encounters her, naked, bathing, and desires her.[4][5][6] This initial sin is the catalyst for the novel, with Hermas subsequently receiving visions, including from Rhode, never named as such,[1] urging him to repent.[4][5]

References

1. Castelli, Emanuele (January 2022). "Le début originel du Pasteur d'Hermas: Une enquête" [The Original Beginning of the Shepherd of Hermas: An Investigation]. Apocrypha (in French). 33: 167–183. doi:10.1484/J.APOCRA.5.134683.
2. Weiss, Alexander (31 December 2009). "Hermas' 'Biography'". Ancient Society. 39: 185–202. doi:10.2143/AS.39.0.2042611.
3. Bentein, Klaas (2015). "The Greek of the Fathers". The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Patristics. pp. 456–470. doi:10.1002/9781118438671.ch31. ISBN 978-1-118-43871-8.
4. Hall, Edith; Proffitt, Laura; Alston, Richard, eds. (2011). Reading Ancient Slavery. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 978-0-7156-3868-2.^[page needed]
5. Smith, Chris H (2022). Singles in the Family of God: An Ecclesial Account of Unmarried Devotion (Thesis). ProQuest 2684996126.^[page needed]
6. Quispel, G.; Oort, J. Van (2008). "Chapter Forty-Six. The Holy Spirit as woman in Apocalypse 12". Gnostica, Judaica, Catholica. Collected Essays of Gilles Quispel. pp. 749–752. doi:10.1163/ej.9789004139459.i-870.234. ISBN 978-90-04-13945-9.