The Apologists · AD 130–180
Daphnus of Smyrna
attested AD 107 (death unrecorded) · Householder of the Smyrnaean church · Smyrna
The Apologists
Who Daphnus of Smyrna was
Greeted by name in Ignatius's farewell to Smyrna — 'the incomparable Daphnus' — one of the households that sheltered the church in Polycarp's city.
Ignatius only (To the Smyrnaeans 13).
Common questions
When was Daphnus active?
Daphnus of Smyrna is dated attested AD 107 (death unrecorded) in the archive, which places Daphnus in the Apologists (AD 130–180).
Which early sources mention Daphnus?
Daphnus of Smyrna is named in 1 primary-source passage catalogued here, drawn from Ignatius of Antioch. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Daphnus from?
The archive associates Daphnus of Smyrna with Smyrna.
Who were Daphnus’ contemporaries?
The archive links Daphnus of Smyrna to 4 other figures, including Polycarp of Smyrna, Tavia of Smyrna, Ignatius of Antioch and Eutecnus of Smyrna. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (1)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
To the Smyrnaeans 13
c. AD 108I salute the households of my brethren with their wives and children, and the virgins who are called widows… I salute the incomparable Daphnus, and Eutecnus, and all by name.Ignatius of Antioch · Smyrnaeans · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 70 · The fall of Jerusalem, AD 70
- AD 95 · Domitian’s reprisals, AD 95
- AD 96 · Rome writes to Corinth: 1 Clement, AD 96
- AD 112 · Pliny writes Trajan, AD 112
- AD 117 · Symeon and Ignatius martyred, AD 117
- AD 135 · Bar Kokhba crushed; Aelia Capitolina, AD 135
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Daphnus.