Religion: Dentists' Saint

In the Third Century, Bishop Dionysius of Alexandria, Egypt wrote to a colleague: "Apollonia the parthenos presbytis [elderly virgin] was held in high esteem. These men seized her . . . and by repeated blows broke all her teeth. They then erected outside the city gates a pile of fagots and threatened to burn her alive if she refused to repeat after them impious words. Given, at her own request, a little freedom, she sprang quickly into the fire and was burned to death."

For her Christian sufferings Apollonia was sainted. Still popular,...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!