Saint Damaris of Athens was, according to the Acts of the Apostles, the first Athenian woman recorded as coming to faith in Christ through the preaching of the Apostle Paul. She is named in Acts 17:34, which lists her among those who believed after Paul addressed the Areopagus in Athens.
Beyond this single scriptural mention, little is known of her life with certainty. She is venerated as a saint in the Orthodox Church and commemorated on October 3, together with Dionysius the Areopagite and other early Athenian converts.
Timeline3 momentsReadHide
c. AD 52–55Paul preaches at the AreopagusDuring the Apostle Paul's visit to Athens, he addressed the philosophers gathered at the Areopagus. Acts 17:34 records that certain hearers joined him and believed.
c. AD 52–55Damaris believesActs names Damaris among those who believed, alongside Dionysius the Areopagite and others, making her the first Athenian woman recorded as embracing the Christian faith.
October 3CommemorationSaint Damaris is honored in the Orthodox calendar on October 3, together with Dionysius the Areopagite and his fellow disciples.
Contributions & Legacy
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Scriptural Witness
Damaris is mentioned once in the New Testament, in Acts 17:34, following Paul's discourse before the Athenian Areopagus. The passage reads: 'Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.'
Her inclusion by name in the account has been read as an indication that she held some standing or was well known within the early Christian community at Athens. The event is generally dated to Paul's missionary work in Athens around AD 52–55.
Identity and Social Status
Damaris's precise social position is uncertain, and scholars have proposed several theories. Because Athenian women did not customarily attend meetings of the Areopagus, some suggest she may have been a hetaira (a high-status courtesan); others propose she was a follower of Stoic philosophy, a school that admitted women, while still others hold that she may have been a foreign visitor to Athens.
The origin of her name is likewise debated. Some derive it from Greek words meaning 'wife' or 'heifer,' while another proposal traces it to the Hebrew 'Thamar' (palm tree)—a derivation taken to suggest she may have been a Jewish woman residing in Athens rather than ethnically Greek. A Coptic root has also been proposed.
Traditional Accounts
A tradition, reflected in one Georgian biblical text and repeated by later writers including Saint Dimitry of Rostov, identifies Damaris as the wife of Dionysius the Areopagite and holds that both, together with their household, were baptized by Paul. Such accounts are not supported by documentary evidence and are regarded as tradition rather than established fact.
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