Damaris () is the name of a woman mentioned in a single verse in Acts of the Apostles () as one of those present when Paul of Tarsus preached in Athens in front of the Athenian Areopagus in c. AD 55.

Biblical narrative Together with Dionysius the Areopagite Damaris embraced the Christian faith following Paul's Areopagus sermon. The verse 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. (KJV)

As usually women were not present in Areopagus meetings, Damaris has traditionally been assumed to have been a hetaira (courtesan, high-status prostitute);e.g. Clare K. Rothschild, Paul in Athens: The Popular Religious Context of Acts 17 (2014), p. 97; Josef Hainz, "Personenlexikon zum Neuen Testament. Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft", Darmstadt 2004. modern commentators have alternatively suggested she might also have been a follower of the Stoics (who welcomed women among their ranks;Craig S. Keener, Acts: An Exegetical Commentary. Volume 3: 15:1-23:35 (2014). this may explain why her conversion was so easy, since the Stoic's Zeus and the god preached by Paul were very similar), or a foreigner visiting Athens.Acts (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament) Darrell L. Bock - 2007 "The reference to Damaris continues Luke's focus on the response of women (Acts 16:15; 17:4, 12). "She may be a foreigner, since women of Athens would not likely have been present (Witherington 1998: 533)..." The Georgian text of Acts makes Damaris the wife of Dionysius.Mark W. Hamilton, Thomas H. Olbricht, Jeffrey Peterson (eds.), Renewing Tradition: Studies in Texts and Contexts in Honor of James W. Thompson (2006), p. 217.

Veneration She is a saint of the Greek Orthodox Church, remembered on 3 October together with Dionysius the Areopagite and two other disciples of Dionysius, who also became martyrs. 3 October in the Julian calendar, which is used by the Old Calendarists, currently coincides with 16 October in the Gregorian calendar.

Etymology The etymology of the name is uncertain. Proposals include derivation from damar δάμαρ "wife, spouse", a contraction of the classical Greek name Damarete Δαμαρέτη (attested as the name of a daughter of Theron of Acragas and wife of Gelo), or derivation from damalis δάμαλις "heifer"; a Coptic derivation has also been considered.Mark W. Hamilton, Thomas H. Olbricht, Jeffrey Peterson (eds.), Renewing Tradition: Studies in Texts and Contexts in Honor of James W. Thompson (2006), p. 210ff.

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