Damaris ( grc-gre, Δάμαρις) is the name of a woman mentioned in a single verse in

Acts of the Apostles The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its message ...

() 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 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 venerat ...

Damaris embraced the Christian faith following Paul's Areopagus sermon. 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, 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, 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.

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 private ...

and wife of Gelo), 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