Thaïs (saint)

Saint Thaïs
St. Thais by Jusepe de Ribera (also described as a painting of St. Mary Magdalen).
Born	c. 4th century
Died	unknown
Honored in	Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox Church
Feast	October 8

St. Thaïs of Roman Alexandria and of the Egyptian desert was a repentant courtesan.

Contents 1 Accounts of her Life 2 Claimed discovery of her body 3 In Cultural history 3.1 Representations in modern culture 4 References notes

Accounts of her Life

St. Thaïs reportedly lived during the fourth century in Roman Egypt. She is included in literature on the lives of the saints in the Greek church. Two biographical sketches exist: one in Greek perhaps of the fifth century (it was translated into Latin as the Vita Thaisis by Dionysius Exiguus (Dennis the Little) during the sixth or seventh century); the other sketch comes to us in medieval Latin by Marbod of Rennes (d. 1123). She also appears in Greek martyrologies by Maurolychus and Greven, though not in Latin martyrologies.^[1] The lives of the desert saints and hermits of Egypt, including St. Thaïs, were collected in the Vitae Patrum.^[2][3] St. Thaïs apparently remains on the Calendar of the Church, with her feast day being celebrated October 8.^[4]

Thaïs is first briefly described as a wealthy and beautiful courtesan living in the prestigious city of Alexandria, in the eyes of the church a public sinner. Eventually, however, she inquires about Christianity and then converts. In her Vita a monk in disguise pays for entry into her chambers in order to challenge her and convert her, yet he finds that she already believes in God, from whom nothing is hidden. The identity of this person who instructs and offers Thaïs the opportunity of spiritual transformation is unclear, three names being mentioned: St. Paphnutius (Egyptian Bishop in Upper Thebaïd), St. Bessarion (disciple of St. Anthony in the Egyptian desert), and St. Serapion (Bishop in the Nile Delta).^[5] Following her acceptance into the Church, she is shown a convent cell where she is provisioned for three years, during which time she performs penance for her sins. When she later emerges, it is said, she lives among the nuns of the Egyptian desert only for a brief period of fifteen days, then she dies.^[1][6]

Claimed discovery of her body

In 1901 the Egyptologist Albert Gayet (1856–1916) announced the discovery near Antinoë in Egypt of the mummified remains of Thaïs and Sérapion, which were exhibited at the Musée Guimet in Paris. Shortly thereafter he qualified his identification, leaving open the possibility of the remains not being those of the two saints.^[7]

In Cultural history

During the European Middle Ages widespread popularity was reported for the story of St. Thaïs.^[3]

Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim (935-1002), a Benedictine Canoness of Saxony (modern Germany), wrote in Latin the play Pafnutius in which St. Thaïs appears. Here is St. Pafnutius addressing the abbess of the desert convent, concerning care for Thaïs:

"I have brought you a half-dead little she-goat, recently snatched from the teeth of wolves. I hope that by your compassion [her] shelter will be insured, and that by your care, [she] will be cured, and that having cast aside the rough pelt of a goat she will be clothed with the soft wool of the lamb."^[8][9]

Traditional pictures of Thaïs show her in two different scenes:

• Burning her treasures and ornaments.
• Praying in a convent cell, with a scroll on which is written "Thou who didst create me have mercy on me."^[1]

Representations in modern culture

After the distinctive artistic lead of Gustave Flaubert (1821–1880) in his La tentation de Saint Antoine (1849, 1874), there eventually followed, in a decidedly more skeptical, historic-religious vein, the novel Thaïs (1890), which inspired the opera Thaïs (1894), later the play Thais (1911), and the statue Thaïs (1920s).

• Thaïs is an historical novel by Anatole France (1844–1924) published at Paris in 1890. Paphnuce, an ascetic hermit of the Egyptian desert, journeys to Alexandria to find Thais, the libertine beauty whom he knew as a youth. Masquerading as a dandy, he is able to speak with her about eternity; surprisingly he succeeds in converting her to Christianity. Yet on their return to the desert he becomes fascinated with her former life. She enters a convent to repent of her sins. He cannot forget the pull of her famous beauty, and becomes confused about the values of life. Later, as she is dying and can only see heaven opening before her, he comes to her side and tells her that her faith is an illusion, and that he loves her.^[10][11]

• Thaïs is an opera with music by Jules Massenet (1842–1912), first performed at the Opéra in Paris on March 16, 1894. The libretto written by Louis Gallet (1835–1898) drew upon the novel of Anatole France. The opera omits the skeptical chapter on the vanity of philosophy. The hermit's name was changed to Athanaël, who is presented with greater sympathy than in the novel. The first duet between Athanaël and Thaïs contrasts his stern accents and her raillery. The last scene's duet shows a reversal of rôles, in which the pious and touching phrases of Thaïs transcend the despairing ardour of Athanaël; desolate chanting, and later, return of the beautiful violin from an earlier symphonic méditation (first played during the intermezzo when Thaïs had converted) complete the effect.^[12][13]

• Thais is a play written by Paul Wilstach, performed at the Criterion Theatre in London, March 14 through April, 1911 (31 performances), with Constance Collier (1878–1955) playing the title role and Tyrone Power, Sr. (1869–1931) as the hermit.^[14][15]

• Thaïs is a bronze and ivory statue of a dancing figure, crafted in France (with a limited production run) during the Art Deco era by the Rumanian Demetre Chiparus (1886–1947).

References notes

Persondata
Name	Thais
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Date of birth
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Place of death