The Ante-Nicene Church · AD 180–313 · External witness
Laetus
fl. AD 202 (death unrecorded) · Prefect of Egypt · Persecutor · Alexandria
External witness
Who Laetus was
Governor of Alexandria during the persecution in which Origen’s father Leonides was beheaded and Origen, aged about seventeen, was only kept from following him by his mother hiding his clothes. Laetus is the state’s name on the event that shaped Origen’s whole life.
Named once in Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History; no other ancient source names him.
Also listed in non-christian witnesses.
Common questions
When was Laetus active?
Laetus is dated fl. AD 202 (death unrecorded) in the archive, which places Laetus in the Ante-Nicene Church (AD 180–313).
Which early sources mention Laetus?
Laetus is named in 1 primary-source passage catalogued here, drawn from Eusebius of Caesarea. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Laetus from?
The archive associates Laetus with Alexandria.
Who were Laetus’ contemporaries?
The archive links Laetus to 2 other figures, including Origen of Alexandria and Leonides of Alexandria. 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.
Ecclesiastical History VI.2.2
c. AD 325[The persecution at Alexandria under Laetus, governor of Egypt, in the tenth year of Severus.]Eusebius of Caesarea · Ecclesiastical History VI.2.2 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 135 · Bar Kokhba crushed; Aelia Capitolina, AD 135
- AD 144 · Marcion expelled at Rome, AD 144
- AD 156 · The New Prophecy erupts, AD 156
- AD 177 · Persecution at Lyon and Vienne, AD 177
- AD 180 · The Scillitan martyrs, AD 180
- AD 190 · The Quartodeciman controversy, AD 190
- AD 202 · Perpetua and Felicity martyred, AD 202
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Laetus.