The Ante-Nicene Church · AD 180–313 · External witness
Marcia
d. AD 193 (executed under Didius Julianus's successor's purges) · Concubine of Commodus · Protector of the confessors · Rome
External witness
Who Marcia was
The most powerful woman of Commodus's court, 'God-loving' in Hippolytus's startled phrase, who asked Pope Victor for the list of confessors condemned to the Sardinian mines and had them freed — Callistus, not on the list, talking his way out with them. She joined the plot that killed Commodus and died in the aftermath.
Also listed in non-christian witnesses.
Common questions
When did Marcia die?
Marcia is dated d. AD 193 (executed under Didius Julianus's successor's purges) in the archive, which places Marcia in the Ante-Nicene Church (AD 180–313).
Which early sources mention Marcia?
Marcia is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Hippolytus of Rome and Dio Cassius. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Marcia from?
The archive associates Marcia with Rome.
Who were Marcia’s contemporaries?
The archive links Marcia to 3 other figures, including Emperor Commodus, Victor I of Rome and Callistus I of Rome. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (2)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Refutation of All Heresies IX.12
c. AD 225Marcia, a God-loving concubine of Commodus, summoned the blessed Victor, then bishop of the church, and inquired of him what martyrs were in Sardinia; and she obtained from Commodus the letter of emancipation.Hippolytus of Rome · IX · source text
Dio Cassius, Roman History 73.4 (she 'greatly favored the Christians')
c. AD 229She greatly favored the Christians and rendered them many kindnesses.Dio Cassius · read ↗
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
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Marcia.
- 1Rome