02 — The Virgin-Martyr
The core of the martyrdom-narrative as the Passio tells it: the shepherd-girl brought before the prefect Olybrius, who desires her and demands both her body and her apostasy; her confession of Christ and refusal of him; and the cycle of fabulous tortures and imprisonment that follows. These files report the legend as the legend, pinned throughout to its source, and set the stage for the prison episodes — the dragon and the demon — that are the legend’s most famous and most frankly fabulous element.
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (Great Martyr; virgin-martyr)
The virgin-martyr legend has a fixed dramatic shape: the powerful pagan official who desires the Christian maiden, his double demand (marriage or concubinage, and sacrifice to the gods), her unbreakable refusal, the escalating tortures by which he tries to break her, the divine interventions that preserve her, and at last the sword. Marina’s Passio follows this shape exactly — and recognizing the shape is itself part of reading the text honestly, for it tells us we are reading a work governed by genre and devotion rather than by the record of a particular trial. This section carries the confrontation and the tortures; the prison wonders that interrupt the torture-cycle are reserved for Section 03.
Files in This Section
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| The Confession Before Olybrius | The prefect Olybrius sees Marina at her flocks and desires her; he demands she renounce Christ and yield to him; she confesses herself a Christian and the bride of Christ and refuses both — the central confrontation of the legend. |
| The Tortures | The martyrdom-cycle: the escalating tortures — the rods, the iron combs or hooks, the fire, the water — the imprisonment, and the constancy by which the legend has Marina endure them; the whole pinned to the Passio as legend (§3.5). |
See Also
- Antioch and the Shepherd-Girl — the setting and the shepherd-girl Olybrius desires
- Swallowed by the Dragon — the prison wonder that interrupts the torture-cycle
- The Passio and the Gelasian Decree — the legendary source of the whole narrative
- Women in Orthodoxy — the virgin-martyr in the Church’s veneration of holy women
References
- Greek Passio of St. Marina, BHG 1165–1167. Brussels: Société des Bollandistes, 1957.
- Jacobus de Voragine. The Golden Legend, “St. Margaret.” Trans. Ryan. Princeton, 1993.
- Bibliotheca Sanctorum, vol. 8, “Marina.” Rome, 1966.