Theodora and Didymus
Saints Theodora and Didymus were early Christian martyrs who died in 304 in Alexandria during the persecutions of the emperors Diocletian and Maximianus. Theodora was a young noblewoman who refused to worship the Roman gods. At her first trial before the prefect Eustratius, she openly confessed she was a Christian and had chosen virginity for Christ. The prefect imprisoned her, warning that she could be sent to a brothel if she persisted.
Three days later, at a renewed hearing, Theodora was taken to the brothel. A Christian soldier named Didymus, dressed in guard clothing, entered, chased away the dissolute men, and exchanged clothes with Theodora so she could escape. When a man came to assault her, Didymus revealed himself. He was captured and brought to the prefect, who condemned him to death. Saint Ambrose says that Theodora could not bear to let her savior die alone and she joined Didymus in martyrdom. They were beheaded, and Didymus’s body was burned.
Theodora and Didymus are remembered as martyred saints, though they are not listed in the Roman Martyrology, the official Catholic register of saints. Their story closely resembles that of Saints Antonia and Alexander, a parallel legend that also ends with martyrdom after a rescue from a brothel. Some scholars think these legends reflect older traditions about religious prostitution in the ancient Middle East and may be based on a martyrdom now lost to history.
The tale inspired later works, including Pierre Corneille’s tragedy Theodore, virgin and martyr; Robert Boyle’s The Martyrdom of Theodora, and Didymus; and Handel’s oratorio Theodora (1749).
Antonina and Alexander are another pair of martyrs with a very similar story. In their legend, a Christian soldier helps Antonina escape from a brothel, and both are burned alive. In the Roman Catholic Church, the feast of Antonina and Alexander is May 3.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 18:52 (CET).