Damaris ( grc-gre, Δάμαρις) is the name of a woman mentioned in a single verse in Acts of the Apostles () as one of those present when

Paul of Tarsus Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

preached in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

in front of the Athenian

Areopagus The Areopagus () is a prominent rock outcropping located northwest of the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. Its English name is the Late Latin composite form of the Greek name Areios Pagos, translated "Hill of Ares" ( grc, Ἄρειος Πάγος) ...

in c. AD 55.

Biblical narrative

Together with

Dionysius the Areopagite Dionysius the Areopagite (; grc-gre, Διονύσιος ὁ Ἀρεοπαγίτης ''Dionysios ho Areopagitēs'') was an Athenian judge at the Areopagus Court in Athens, who lived in the first century. A convert to Christianity, he is venerate ...

Damaris embraced the Christian faith following Paul's

Areopagus sermon The Areopagus sermon refers to a sermon delivered by Apostle Paul in Athens, at the Areopagus, and recounted in Acts 17:16–34... The Areopagus sermon is the most dramatic and most fully-reported speech of the missionary career of Saint Paul ...

. The verse reads: :"Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them." (

KJV The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by sponsorship of K ...

) As usually women were not present in Areopagus meetings, Damaris has traditionally been assumed to have been a ''hetaera'' (courtesan, high-status prostitute); modern commentators have alternatively suggested she might also have been a follower of the Stoics (who welcomed women among their ranks) or a foreigner visiting Athens. The Georgian text of ''Acts'' makes Damaris the wife of Dionysius.

Veneration

She is a saint of the

Greek Orthodox Church The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...

, remembered on 3 October together with

and two other disciples of Dionysius, who also became martyrs.Church of Greece
/ref> 3 October in the

Julian calendar The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on , by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematicians and astronomers such as Sosigenes of Alexandr ...

, which is used by the

Old Calendarists Old Calendarists (Greek: ''palaioimerologitai'' or ''palaioimerologites''), also known as Old Feasters (''palaioeortologitai''), Genuine Orthodox Christians or True Orthodox Christians (GOC; ), are traditionalist groups of Eastern Orthodox Chri ...

, currently coincides with 16 October in the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...

Etymology

The etymology of the name is uncertain. Proposals include derivation from ''damar'' δάμαρ "wife, spouse", a contraction of the classical Greek name ''Damarete'' Δαμαρέτη (attested as the name of a daughter of

Theron of Acragas Theron ( el, Θήρων, ''gen''.: Θήρωνος; died 473 BC), son of Aenesidamus, was a Greek tyrant of the town of Acragas in Sicily from 488 BC. According to Polyaenus, he came to power by using public funds allocated for the hire of privat ...

and wife of

Gelo Gelon also known as Gelo (Greek: Γέλων ''Gelon'', ''gen.'': Γέλωνος; died 478 BC), son of Deinomenes, was a Greek tyrant of the Sicilian cities Gela and Syracuse, and first of the Deinomenid rulers. Early life Gelon was the son o ...

), or derivation from ''damalis'' δάμαλις "heifer"; a Coptic derivation has also been considered.Mark W. Hamilton, Thomas H. Olbricht, Jeffrey Peterson (eds.), ''Renewing Tradition: Studies in Texts and Contexts in Honor of James W. Thompson'' (2006)
p. 210ff

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Damaris 1st-century Romans 1st-century Greek people 1st-century Christian female saints People in Acts of the Apostles Saints of Roman Athens Roman-era Athenian women Women in the New Testament 1st-century Greek women