Damaris
Believing woman from Athens
Damaris was a woman from Athens who came to faith in Jesus Christ after hearing the apostle Paul speak at the Areopagus. She is one of very few individuals mentioned by name among those converted in Athens, suggesting she held a somewhat prominent position in society. Her conversion shows that the gospel reached both men and women in the Greek world.
Événements clés
Paul speaks at the Areopagus
The apostle Paul was brought to the Areopagus in Athens to explain his teaching about Jesus and the resurrection to the philosophically minded Athenians.
19So they took hold of him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, "May we know what this new teaching of yours is?
ἐπιλαβόμενοί ⸀τε αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὸν Ἄρειον Πάγον ἤγαγον, λέγοντες· Δυνάμεθα γνῶναι τίς ἡ καινὴ αὕτη ἡ ὑπὸ σοῦ λαλουμένη διδαχή;
20You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean."
ξενίζοντα γάρ τινα εἰσφέρεις εἰς τὰς ἀκοὰς ἡμῶν· βουλόμεθα οὖν γνῶναι ⸂τίνα θέλει⸃ ταῦτα εἶναι.
21Now all the Athenians and the foreigners living there spent their time on nothing but telling or hearing something new.
Ἀθηναῖοι δὲ πάντες καὶ οἱ ἐπιδημοῦντες ξένοι εἰς οὐδὲν ἕτερον ηὐκαίρουν ἢ λέγειν τι ⸀ἢ ἀκούειν ⸀τι καινότερον.
22Then Paul stood up in the middle of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens, I see that in every way you are very religious.
Σταθεὶς ⸀δὲ Παῦλος ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ Ἀρείου Πάγου ἔφη· Ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, κατὰ πάντα ὡς δεισιδαιμονεστέρους ὑμᾶς θεωρῶ·
23For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: 'To an unknown god.' What you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.
διερχόμενος γὰρ καὶ ἀναθεωρῶν τὰ σεβάσματα ὑμῶν εὗρον καὶ βωμὸν ἐν ᾧ ἐπεγέγραπτο· Ἀγνώστῳ θεῷ. ⸀ὃ οὖν ἀγνοοῦντες εὐσεβεῖτε, ⸀τοῦτο ἐγὼ καταγγέλλω ὑμῖν.
24The God who made the world and everything in it, the Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by human hands,
ὁ θεὸς ὁ ποιήσας τὸν κόσμον καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐν αὐτῷ, οὗτος οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς ⸂ὑπάρχων κύριος⸃ οὐκ ἐν χειροποιήτοις ναοῖς κατοικεῖ
25nor is he served by human hands as though he needed anything. He himself gives everyone life and breath and all things.
οὐδὲ ὑπὸ χειρῶν ⸀ἀνθρωπίνων θεραπεύεται προσδεόμενός τινος, αὐτὸς διδοὺς πᾶσι ζωὴν καὶ πνοὴν ⸂καὶ τὰ⸃ πάντα·
26From one man he made every nation of humankind to inhabit the whole face of the earth, and he determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their dwelling places,
ἐποίησέν τε ἐξ ⸀ἑνὸς πᾶν ἔθνος ἀνθρώπων κατοικεῖν ἐπὶ ⸂παντὸς προσώπου⸃ τῆς γῆς, ὁρίσας προστεταγμένους καιροὺς καὶ τὰς ὁροθεσίας τῆς κατοικίας αὐτῶν,
27so that they would seek God and perhaps reach out for him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us.
ζητεῖν τὸν ⸀θεὸν εἰ ἄρα γε ψηλαφήσειαν αὐτὸν καὶ εὕροιεν, καί γε οὐ μακρὰν ἀπὸ ἑνὸς ἑκάστου ἡμῶν ὑπάρχοντα.
28For in him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'
ἐν αὐτῷ γὰρ ζῶμεν καὶ κινούμεθα καὶ ἐσμέν, ὡς καί τινες τῶν καθʼ ὑμᾶς ποιητῶν εἰρήκασιν· Τοῦ γὰρ καὶ γένος ἐσμέν.
29So then, since we are God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, shaped by human skill and imagination.
γένος οὖν ὑπάρχοντες τοῦ θεοῦ οὐκ ὀφείλομεν νομίζειν χρυσῷ ἢ ἀργύρῳ ἢ λίθῳ, χαράγματι τέχνης καὶ ἐνθυμήσεως ἀνθρώπου, τὸ θεῖον εἶναι ὅμοιον.
30God overlooked the times of ignorance that are past, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
τοὺς μὲν οὖν χρόνους τῆς ἀγνοίας ὑπεριδὼν ὁ θεὸς τὰ νῦν ⸀παραγγέλλει τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ⸀πάντας πανταχοῦ μετανοεῖν,
31For he has set a day on which he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead."
⸀καθότι ἔστησεν ἡμέραν ἐν ᾗ μέλλει κρίνειν τὴν οἰκουμένην ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ ἐν ἀνδρὶ ᾧ ὥρισεν, πίστιν παρασχὼν πᾶσιν ἀναστήσας αὐτὸν ἐκ νεκρῶν.
Paul preaches the resurrection
Paul proclaimed the true God and the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, which sparked mixed reactions among the listeners at the Areopagus.
30God overlooked the times of ignorance that are past, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
τοὺς μὲν οὖν χρόνους τῆς ἀγνοίας ὑπεριδὼν ὁ θεὸς τὰ νῦν ⸀παραγγέλλει τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ⸀πάντας πανταχοῦ μετανοεῖν,
31For he has set a day on which he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead."
⸀καθότι ἔστησεν ἡμέραν ἐν ᾗ μέλλει κρίνειν τὴν οἰκουμένην ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ ἐν ἀνδρὶ ᾧ ὥρισεν, πίστιν παρασχὼν πᾶσιν ἀναστήσας αὐτὸν ἐκ νεκρῶν.
32When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some began to mock, but others said, "We will hear you again about this."
Ἀκούσαντες δὲ ἀνάστασιν νεκρῶν οἱ μὲν ἐχλεύαζον οἱ δὲ εἶπαν Ἀκουσόμεθά σου ⸂περὶ τούτου καὶ πάλιν⸃.
Damaris comes to faith
After Paul's speech at the Areopagus, Damaris joined him and came to believe. She is mentioned by name along with Dionysius the Areopagite as one of the few who became believers in Athens.
34But some men joined him and believed, among them Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
τινὲς δὲ ἄνδρες κολληθέντες αὐτῷ ἐπίστευσαν, ἐν οἷς καὶ Διονύσιος ὁ Ἀρεοπαγίτης καὶ γυνὴ ὀνόματι Δάμαρις καὶ ἕτεροι σὺν αὐτοῖς.
Paul arrives in Athens
Paul arrived in Athens and was distressed by all the idols in the city. He began to reason with Jews and God-fearing people in the synagogue and with people in the marketplace.
15Those who escorted Paul brought him as far as Athens, and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.
οἱ δὲ ⸀καθιστάνοντες τὸν Παῦλον ⸀ἤγαγον ἕως Ἀθηνῶν, καὶ λαβόντες ἐντολὴν πρὸς τὸν Σιλᾶν καὶ ⸀τὸν Τιμόθεον ἵνα ὡς τάχιστα ἔλθωσιν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐξῄεσαν.
16While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was stirred to anger within him as he saw that the city was full of idols.
Ἐν δὲ ταῖς Ἀθήναις ἐκδεχομένου αὐτοὺς τοῦ Παύλου, παρωξύνετο τὸ πνεῦμα αὐτοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ ⸀θεωροῦντος κατείδωλον οὖσαν τὴν πόλιν.
17So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearers, and every day in the marketplace with whoever happened to be there.
διελέγετο μὲν οὖν ἐν τῇ συναγωγῇ τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις καὶ τοῖς σεβομένοις καὶ ἐν τῇ ἀγορᾷ κατὰ πᾶσαν ἡμέραν πρὸς τοὺς παρατυγχάνοντας.
18Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also debated with him. Some said, "What is this babbler trying to say?" Others said, "He seems to be a preacher of foreign deities"—because he was proclaiming the good news of Jesus and the resurrection.
τινὲς δὲ καὶ τῶν Ἐπικουρείων ⸀καὶ Στοϊκῶν φιλοσόφων συνέβαλλον αὐτῷ, καί τινες ἔλεγον· Τί ἂν θέλοι ὁ σπερμολόγος οὗτος λέγειν; οἱ δέ· Ξένων δαιμονίων δοκεῖ καταγγελεὺς εἶναι· ὅτι τὸν Ἰησοῦν καὶ τὴν ἀνάστασιν εὐηγγελίζετο.
The Spread of the Gospel Among the Greeks
Damaris' conversion is a testimony that the gospel took root even in Athens, the intellectual and philosophical center, and reached both women and men in the Greek world.
33At that, Paul left them.
⸀οὕτως ὁ Παῦλος ἐξῆλθεν ἐκ μέσου αὐτῶν·
34But some men joined him and believed, among them Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
τινὲς δὲ ἄνδρες κολληθέντες αὐτῷ ἐπίστευσαν, ἐν οἷς καὶ Διονύσιος ὁ Ἀρεοπαγίτης καὶ γυνὴ ὀνόματι Δάμαρις καὶ ἕτεροι σὺν αὐτοῖς.