The Apostolic Age · AD 4–70
Damaris of Athens
fl. c. 50 (death unrecorded) · Convert of the Areopagus address · Athens
The Apostolic Age
Who Damaris of Athens was
Named with Dionysius the Areopagite among the handful who believed after Paul’s address on Mars Hill: “certain men clave unto him… among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris.” That a woman is named at all in the Athenian result-list led Ramsay to suppose her a foreign, educated hearer; Chrysostom’s guess that she was Dionysius’s wife has no support in the text. She is the Athenian church’s founding mother.
Acts 17:34 only; later tradition making her Dionysius's wife is post-antique.
Also listed in women.
Common questions
When was Damaris active?
Damaris of Athens is dated fl. c. 50 (death unrecorded) in the archive, which places Damaris in the Apostolic Age (AD 4–70). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.
Which early sources mention Damaris?
Damaris of Athens is named in 1 primary-source passage catalogued here, drawn from Luke. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Damaris from?
The archive associates Damaris of Athens with Athens.
Who were Damaris’ contemporaries?
The archive links Damaris of Athens to 2 other figures, including Dionysius the Areopagite and Paul of Tarsus. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Scripture record
Primary-source mentions (1)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Acts 17:34
c. AD 85Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.Luke · read ↗
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 30 · Crucifixion, Resurrection and Pentecost, AD 30–33
- AD 44 · Persecution under Herod Agrippa I, AD 44
- AD 49 · The Council of Jerusalem, AD 49
- AD 57 · Paul writes Romans, AD 57
- AD 62 · James the Just stoned, AD 62
- AD 64 · The Great Fire and Nero’s persecution, AD 64
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Damaris.