The Nicene Age · AD 313–400
Irene
d. before AD 384 (a consecrated virgin, not a martyr) · Consecrated virgin · Sister of Pope Damasus · Rome
The Nicene Age
Who Irene was
Sister of Damasus, who wrote her epitaph himself. She had been consecrated to virginity and died young, and the poem is the only surviving verse in which Damasus writes about his own family rather than about a martyr. She is not a martyr, and the archive records her as what she was: a member of a Roman clerical household, named because her brother happened to be a poet and a pope.
Named once, in a verse epigram Damasus of Rome set at the tomb between 366 and 384. The epigram is the ONLY early evidence — the later Passions derive from it, not the reverse.
Also listed in women.
Common questions
When did Irene die?
Irene is dated d. before AD 384 (a consecrated virgin, not a martyr) in the archive, which places Irene in the Nicene Age (AD 313–400).
Which early sources mention Irene?
Irene is named in 1 primary-source passage catalogued here, drawn from Damasus of Rome. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Irene from?
The archive associates Irene with Rome.
Who were Irene’s contemporaries?
The archive links Irene to 2 other figures, including Damasus I of Rome and Furius Dionysius Filocalus. 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.
The Damasan epigram Ferrua 11, the family epitaph, cut by Furius Dionysius Filocalus at the martyr’s tomb
c. AD 375[Damasus’ own verse for his sister, a consecrated virgin who died before him.]Damasus of Rome · Damasan epigram, Ferrua 11, the family epitaph · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 311 · Galerius’ edict of Serdica, AD 311
- AD 313 · The Edict of Milan, AD 313
- AD 314 · The Council of Arles, AD 314
- AD 320 · Silvanus tried before Zenophilus, AD 320
- AD 325 · The Council of Nicaea, AD 325
- AD 339 · The persecution of Shapur II, AD 339
- AD 343 · The Council of Serdica, AD 343
- AD 361 · Julian’s pagan restoration, AD 361
- AD 366 · Damasus and the catacomb epigrams, AD 366
- AD 367 · Athanasius lists the 27 NT books, AD 367
- AD 372 · The martyrdom of Sabbas the Goth, AD 372
- AD 378 · Queen Mavia’s revolt, AD 378
- AD 380 · The Edict of Thessalonica, AD 380
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Irene.
- 1Rome