Martyr Callisthene and her father Audactus of Ephesus
first half of the 4th century
Also known as Callisthene · Audactus
Callisthene and her father Audactus, an eparch, suffered after refusing a pagan imperial marriage alliance; Callisthene later confessed Christ and was martyred.
Feast Day
October 4
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The Holy Martyr Callisthene of Ephesus and her Father Audactus
Life
Callisthene and her father Audactus were Christians of Ephesus in Asia Minor whose sufferings arose from Audactus's refusal to give his daughter in marriage to a pagan emperor. Audactus, who held the rank of eparch, would not consent to the union because the emperor practiced paganism rather than Christianity.
For his refusal Audactus was stripped of his wealth and office and exiled to Melitene in Armenia, where he was beheaded. Callisthene went into hiding, survived the persecutions of her era, recovered and gave away her family's estate, and devoted the remainder of her life to charity and the religious life before dying in Ephesus in the first half of the fourth century.
The two are commemorated together as a father-and-daughter pair on October 4.
Timeline 5 moments
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305–311Audactus refuses the imperial marriageThe emperor Maximian Galerius sought to marry Callisthene, but her father Audactus, an eparch of Ephesus, refused his consent because the emperor was a pagan rather than a Christian.
c. 311–312Audactus exiled and martyredDeprived of his wealth and position for his refusal, Audactus was exiled to Melitene in Armenia, where he was beheaded.
after Audactus's deathCallisthene in hiding at NicomediaCallisthene hid in Nicomedia with a woman whose daughter she is said to have miraculously healed of blindness.
311–324Restoration under LiciniusAfter Maximian's death, during the reign of the emperor Licinius, Callisthene befriended his Christian wife Constantia, daughter of Constantine the Great. Through this connection she recovered her family's confiscated estate, which she distributed entirely to those in need.
first half of the 4th centuryReturn to Ephesus and reposeCallisthene brought her father's body back to Ephesus and built a church dedicated to him. She devoted her remaining years to the religious life and died in Ephesus.
Contributions & Legacy
2 contributions
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Historical Context
The events are set against the persecutions of the early fourth century under Maximian Galerius (305–311) and the later reign of Licinius (311–324). Audactus's standing as an eparch placed the family within the imperial administration, which made the emperor's marriage proposal both a personal and a political matter; the refusal cost Audactus his property, his office, and ultimately his life.
Callisthene's later restoration came through her friendship with Constantia, the Christian wife of Licinius and daughter of Constantine the Great, a connection that allowed her to reclaim the confiscated family estate.
Charity and Legacy
Having recovered her family's estate, Callisthene gave it away in full to those in need rather than retaining it for herself. She returned her father's body to Ephesus and built a church dedicated to him, then devoted her remaining years to the religious life.
Western martyrologies likewise commemorate the pair on October 4, listing Audactus (also rendered Adauctus) as a layman and father martyred during the persecutions of the period, and Callisthene as his daughter who lived through those persecutions and died of natural causes in the fourth century.
