Mariamne is a name frequently used in the Herodian royal house. In

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

it is spelled Μαριάμη (Mariame) by

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for '' The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...

; in some editions of his work the second ''m'' is doubled (Mariamme). In later copies of those editions the spelling was dissimilated to its now most common form, Mariamne. In

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

, Mariamne is known as מִרְיָם, (Miriam), as in the Biblical name (see Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron); Mariamne is the

Hellenized Hellenization (other British spelling Hellenisation) or Hellenism is the adoption of Greek culture, religion, language and identity by non-Greeks. In the ancient period, colonization often led to the Hellenization of indigenous peoples; in th ...

version of the Hebrew, as

Koine Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...

was a common language in the late Hasmonean era in

Judea Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous Latin, and the modern-day name of the mountainous sou ...

(together with

Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...

), where both Mariamnes lived. For

Gnostic Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish and early Christian sects. These various groups emphasized pe ...

readers Mariamne is also recognized as possibly being Mary Magdalene. François Bovon, professor of the history of religion at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

, has theorized based on his study of the

Acts of Philip The Greek ''Acts of Philip'' (''Acta Philippi'') is an episodic gnostic apocryphal book of acts from the mid-to-late fourth century, originally in fifteen separate ''acta'', that gives an accounting of the miraculous acts performed by the Apostle ...

(which describes the

apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

Philip as the brother of "Mariamne" or "Mariamme") that Mariamene, or Mariamne, was the actual name of Mary Magdalene. Mary/Mariam was a common name in 1st century Israel, however, not all Marys or Mariams would go by the name Mariamne. Nicknames were often used to distinguish between those with common names (Mary, Joseph, etc.). Holders include: *

Mariamne (second wife of Herod) Mariamne I (died 29 BCE), also called Mariamne the Hasmonean, was a Hasmonean princess and the second wife of Herod the Great. She was known for her great beauty, as was her brother Aristobulus III. Herod's fear of his rivals, the Hasmoneans, ...

, a.k.a. Mariamne I *

Mariamne (third wife of Herod) Mariamne II was the third wife of Herod the Great. She was the daughter of Simon Boethus the High Priest. Josephus recounts their wedding thus: There was one Simon, a citizen of Jerusalem, the son of one Boethus, a citizen of Alexandria, and ...

, a.k.a. Mariamne II *

Mariamne III Mariamne III was a daughter of Aristobulus IV and Berenice. She had three brothers, Herod of Chalcis, Herod Agrippa I, and Aristobulus V, and one sister, Herodias. Some time after the death of her father in 7 BCE, Mariamne III was betrothe ...

, sister of Herodias * Mariamne (daughter of Herod Agrippa I), a daughter of Agrippa I. *

Mariamne Mariamne is a name frequently used in the Herodian royal house. In Greek it is spelled Μαριάμη (Mariame) by Josephus; in some editions of his work the second ''m'' is doubled (Mariamme). In later copies of those editions the spelling was ...

the sister of the Apostle Philip *

Olivia Mariamne Devenish Olivia Mariamne Devenish (16 February 1771 – 26 November 1814) was the spouse of Sir Stamford Raffles, vice governor of Java (1811–1816) from 1805 to 1814. A monument was erected to her memory in the botanical garden of Buitenzorg (Bogor ...

(1771–1814), British socialite *

Mariamne Johnes Mariamne Johnes (30 June 1784 – 4 July 1811) was the only daughter of Thomas Johnes of Hafod Uchtryd in mid Wales. She was a talented botanist and a friend and regular correspondent of the English botanist Sir James Edward Smith. She suffered w ...

(1784-1811), daughter of Thomas Johnes, Hafod, Wales

See also