“On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. When she and her members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. ‘If you consider me a believer in the Lord,’ she said, ‘come and stay at my house.’ And she persuaded us.” 1
Lydia of Thyatira is said to be the first documented female Christian convert; and yet, she is only mentioned twice in the Bible. Lets take matters into our own hands and give her a proper welcome:
The language in this verse provides us with a few interesting interpretations. The name ‘Lydia’ is of Greek origin, derived from the ancient region of Lydia in Asia Minor. Her Greek origins, therefore, suggest that she might have been a former believer of the Ancient Greek religion. She was a polytheistic woman. However, we can argue that in the verse she was already “a worshipper of God” before she was baptized. This suggests that the act of worshipping God is so strong and benevolent that it can even overpower a polytheistic individual, and lead to a complete abandonment of their indigenous religion.
This woman’s background is even more complex and scattered once we delve further into her interconnection with the Greek world. She is descried to be “a dealer in Purple Cloth”, which is evident of her wealthy status. Only the wealthiest individuals in the Meditteranean world wore the color purple. It was seen as a sign of royalty. We see the color being referenced in connection to royalty in all sorts of literature as well. One famous example would be in Shakespeare’s play, Antony and Cleopatra, when Cleopatra came riding onto Roman soil in her glorious ship surrounded by a magnificently purple sail.
The verse describes Lydia’s conversion to not only be due to her idealized worship of “The Lord” but also because of Paul’s message. After she was converted, she had showed one of the great Christian virtues, generosity, by allowing Paul to stay in her household. Moreoever, the fact that it is her household is also an indication of the fact that she may as well be the ‘leader’ of this household. Painting her as a dealer, and of rather expensive dye, also emphasizes this point. This may be a stretch, but there is also no mention of a male figure in the household. So, is it wrong for one to assume that Lydia may as well have been not only a woman of great saintly virtue, but also a woman of her own worth and independence? This does make me wonder, how is this at all different from, or the same as, other Greek women of Thyatira? What was the social world of Thyatira like?
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word ‘Virago’ is derived from the Latin meaning “woman having qualities typical of a man, heroic woman, female warrior.”2 For both Christian men and women in the Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, a Virago was associated with a woman who had converted to Christianity. This conversion to Christianity is what made her a ‘virago’ as she fully disembodied the norms of a polytheistic womanhood, absorbed the virtues of masculine Christianity, and defended her virginity. The discourse behind this is the denial of their female bodies in order to be more like men; more so, the ability to be more like, and closer to, Jesus.
How is this a representation of our beloved Lydia of Thyatira? Does she embody the characteristics of a Virago? I certainly think she does! Her strinking independence, worship of God, and bravery to turn down her indigenous religion makes her the perfect image of a Virago.
What do you guys think? Is she one of our very first Virago women? How do you guys read this verse? Maybe she is not a Virago, and simply a woman who Paul took under his wing and influenced her decision.
- Acts 16:13-15 (New Testament) ↩︎
- Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “Virago”, March 2024, https://doi.org/OED/5595538992 ↩︎
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