Le peripezie di Santippe e Polissena sulle tracce di Tecla

Abstract

The paper focuses on the Acta Xanthippae et Polyxenae (BHG 1877), an anonymous Greek
work that blends hagiography, apocryphal acts of the apostles, and the Greek novel. The
protagonists are two Spanish women, two sisters, converted through the preaching of Paul:
the first one, Xanthippe, Probus’s wife, is the model of the Christian wife, while the second
one, Polyxena, a young woman forced to wander far and wide over land and sea, is the model
of the Christian virgin.

Key-words: Hagiography, Apocryphal Acts, Greek Novel, Narrative topoi, Virginity.