Abstract

The layering of classical and biblical language in the Story of Apollonius has fueled debate about the readership and religious contexts of the late Latin romance. This article analyzes the mixture of pagan and biblical elements in the central murder plot of Tarsia, for which two characters plead their innocence to an unnamed god. A reinterpretation of the intertexts in their parallel prayers reveals how the romance combines the formulae of judicial prayers and the Latin Vulgate to shape reader response to the episode. Apollonius 32 thereby accommodates readers from diverse religious traditions and foreshadows the story's final administration of justice.