Saint Olympias

Olympias, also known as Saint Olympias and sometimes known as Olympias the Younger to distinguish her from her aunt of the same name (Greek: Ὀλυμπιάς; c. 365 - July 25, 408), was a Christian Roman noblewoman of Greek descent. Born between 361 and 368 in either Constantinople or Antioch, she was the daughter of Alexandra, an Antiochian Greek noblewoman, and Seleucus, a wealthy Greek Rhetor. Olympias had a sibling who was also a parent to Seleucus and Alexandra. She was named after her late paternal aunt Olympias, who was once engaged to Roman Emperor Constans. Her paternal grandfather, Flavius Ablabius, held consular rank in Constantinople, while her maternal uncle, Calliopius the Rhetor, served as a grammaticus under Libanius and later became an official under Constantius II and Julian the Apostate.

Described as 'the beloved daughter' of Seleucus and Alexandra, Olympias married Nebridius, a nobleman who served as prefect of Constantinople, at eighteen years old. She was widowed after two years and dedicated her life to the church, serving as a deaconess. Olympias is renowned for building a hospital and orphanage, tending to monks in exile from Nitria, and supporting John Chrysostom, which led him to advise her that she had done almost too much. Her support of Chrysostom resulted in her own exile in 404, whereupon she lived the remainder of her life in Nicomedia until her death on July 25, 408, after a long illness. She is among the one hundred forty saints whose statues adorn the colonnades of Saint Peter's Square, and the nunnery she founded survived into the 7th century.