Thaïs (saint)

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

Accounts of her Life

St. Thaïs reportedly lived in Roman Egypt during the fourth century. 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, which was translated into Latin by Dionysius Exiguus (Dennis the Little) as the "Vita Thaisis" during the sixth or seventh century; another in medieval Latin by Marbod of Rennes (d. 1123). She also appears in martyrologies by Maurolychus and Greven, though not in Latin martyrologies.citeweb| url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14553d.htm|title=Catholic Encyclopedia (1917)|accessdate=2008-08-03] [The lives of the desert saints and hermits of Egypt were collected in the "Vitae Patrum", which includes that of St. Thaïs. An early modern, scholarly edition exists, by Heribert Rosweyde, "De vita et vebis seniorum librix, historiam eremiticam complectentes" (Antwerp: Plantin 1615); reprinted in Patrologia Latina, at volumes 73-73.] [ [http://www.lib.rochester.edu/Camelot/teams/whthaintro.htm R.H.Robbin Library, Camelot Project] .] Nonetheless, there has emerged the view that her story is "probably only a moral tale invented for edification." [Donald Attwater (compiler), "A Dictionary of Saints" (London: Burns and Oates 1938), revised and edited by John Cumming as "A New Dictionary of Saints" (Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press 1994) at 299. This view is based in part on the 1903 essay by Pierre Battifol.] [There was another Thaïs of some notoriety in the ancient world, who traveled to Persia with the campaign of Alexander.]

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 pays for entry into her chambers in order to challenge and convert her, where he learns that she already believes in God, from whom nothing is hidden.] The identity of the 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). [Attwater & Cumming, "A New Dictionary of Saints" (1994) at 299 (St. Thaïs), 244 (St. Paphnutius), 54 (St. Bessarion), 285 (St. Serapion).] 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 only for a brief period of 14 days. [Cf., Benedicta Ward, "Harlots of the Desert. A study of repentence in early monastic sources" (Kalamazoo, Michigan: Cistercian Publications 1989), which includes modern translations of these Egyptian lives.]

Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim (935-1002), a Benedictine Canoness of Saxony in Germany, wrote in Latin the play "Pafnutius" in which St. Thaïs appears. Here is St. Pafnutius addressing an abbess in the desert, 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 rought pelt of a goat she will be clothed with the soft wool of the lamb." [Katherina M. Wilson (ed., transl.), "The Plays of Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim" (New York: Garland Pub. 1989) at 93-122, 112.] [ [http://www.lib.rochester.edu/Camelot/teams/whthaintro.htm R.H.Robbin Library, Camelot Project] .]

Widespread popularity existed for the story of St. Thaïs during the European Middle Ages.

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 being those of the two saints. [Cf., Albert Gayet, "Antinoë et les Sépultures de Thaïs et Sérapion" (Paris: Societé Française d'Éditions d'Art 1902).]

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 did create me, have mercy on me."

Novel, Opera, Play, Statue

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. [Anatole France, "Thais" (Paris 1890, revised edition 1921); translated into English: Modern Library 1926; Univ.of Chicago 1976.] [Unlike Gustave Flaubert, the modernist Anatole France was known to be skeptical about religion, and his novel seems to celebrate eros at the expense of transcendent values, taking grim satisfaction in mocking a supposed pretense.]

"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 pius 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. [Gustave Kobbé, "The Complete Opera Book" (New York: Putnam 1919, 1935) at 731-736, 735-736 (duet).] [Cf., Clair Rowden, "Republican Morality and Catholic Tradition in the Opera. Massenet's Hérodiade and Thaïs" (Weinsberg: Lucie Galland 2004).]

"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. [Cf., "New York Times" February 10, 1911, at page 7 (about the play's trial run in Boston). This modern effort follows a millennium after the first play about Thaïs written by Hrotsvitha (935-1002).] [Evidently between 1911 and 1917 there were also five silent movies about Thaïs, made in France, Italy, and the U.S.A.]

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

References