Panthea, Wife of Abradates, Stabs herself 1790 - 1800

Edward Francis Burney created this delicate engraving, "Panthea, Wife of Abradates, Stabs Herself", sometime in the late 18th to early 19th century. Burney, living in an era of shifting social structures, engages with themes of love and sacrifice through the lens of a classical narrative. This image depicts a woman taking her own life, choosing death over a world without her beloved. The story of Panthea comes to us from Xenophon's "Cyropaedia," a philosophical biography of Cyrus the Great. Panthea, known for her beauty and virtue, exemplifies devotion to her husband, Abradates. When he dies in battle, she commits suicide beside his body. Burney captures the tragic intensity of this moment, inviting viewers to contemplate the extremes of love, honor, and agency in a patriarchal society. The print leaves us to consider the personal and political dimensions of such a sacrifice. What does it mean for a woman to claim control over her destiny in such a definitive, irreversible way?