Theosena herodici principis filia · Centre for Early Modern Visual Culture

Title: Theosena herodici principis filia
Subject: Important Women; Famous Women; Poris; King Philip; Suicide; Theoxena
Period: 1450-1500;
Geographic: Ancient Greece; Thessaly
Description: This engraving depicts Theoxena, her husband Poris, and her nephews and child killing themselves. Theoxena and her husband are depicted jumping from the ship head-first into the sea to drown themselves. They are illustrated holding each other as they die as a couple. The figures on the ship are her nephews and her son, who are also killing themselves. Theoxena had given them a choice between stabbing themselves with knives or to drink poison. There are two boys who had stabbed themselves and one child is depicted drinking the poison from a cup. Boccaccio explains that Theoxena and her family killed themselves to avoid dying at the hands of king Philip of Macedon.
Image Creator: Anonymous (Engraver)
Type: Text; Woodcut Engraving
Identifier: mta:18215
Language: lat
Source Name: Iohannis Bocacij in librum de claris mulieribus
Parent Collection: 1487 Leuven
Image: mta_18215_OBJ.png