ST. DOROTHY 243 representationB of her, six of which are in England, with fruit and flowers in her hiuids or in her lap, or an angel bringing them to her. Two different stories are told of her: the first is supposed to be fabulous and the second true, but referring to the person known as St. Catherine. The legend of St. Dorothy of Cappa- docia is as follows : She lived at C»sarea. Sapritius, or Fabricius, the governor of CsBsarea, put her in prison, and offered great rewards to her sisters, Callista and Chuista, or Chbisteta, who were apostates from the Christian faith, if they would persuade Dorothy to apos- tatize also, which task they undertook, but were converted by Dorothy, and fell at her feet, entreating her to pray for forgiveness for them. They were con- demned to be burned, Dorothy looking on and encouraging them. She was then sentenced to be tortured and beheaded* Theophilus, a young lawyer, mockingly asked her to send him some of the fruits and flowers from the garden of the Lord, where she said she was going, and she promised to do so. At the place of execution she prayed, and an angel appeared by her side with a basket con- taining three fragrant roses and three apples, which she begged him to take to Theophilus. He tasted the fruit and smelt the roses, and straightway became a Christian, and afterwards a martyr. Her Acts, though very ancient, are not authentic, and her name is not in early Greek Calendars. Her legend was widely known throughout the Western Church, and her woridiip universal there in the beginning of the 8th century. The second version of the story of St. Dorothy is this: Maximianus Daia Galerius Caasar, nephew of the Emperor Galerius Maximianus, was not only a cruel persecutor of the Christians, but a sensual ruffian. Young girls were the chief objects of his persecution, and their religion was in many instances Ji^^e the pretext for bringing them into nls power. St. Dorothy was a beautiful maiden, of the noblest and wealthiest family of Alexandria, remarkable for her learning and her knowledge of science and philosophy, and of the Holy Scrip- tures, which had been publicly taught for a hundred years to ihe young girls of Alexandria. Maximianus had already put to death many Christians whom he had vainly tried to seduce ; but whether his admira- tion of Dorothy was greater than his anger against her, or whether he was afraid such a measure would be too unpopular, he contented himself with seizing all her property and banishing her. Eusebius relates the circumstance, but does not mention her name, which, however, is given by Kuflnus. It is said that, on her banishment, she went to the mountains of Arabia, and was eventually martyred. Some say she voluntarily left her possessions and fled from the pursuit of Mucimianus. She is counted among the martyrs, although it is not certain what became of her after she left Alexandria. She is the same person who was honoured in the Eastern Church as Catherine centuries before Catherine became a popular saint in the West, and as the names and legends differed so widely, they came to be regarded as two different persons, an example of one way of multiplying saints. B,M. Le Beau, Ba8 Empire, i. 73. Mrs. Jameson, Sacred and Legendary Art. Baillet. YiUegas. Leggendario, Mart, of Salisbury. Husen- beth. Ott. Cahier. St. Dorothy (3), or Dorotheas, and Januaria, or Januariana, Oct. 20, MM. at Puteoli, probably at the beginning of the 4th century. St. Dorothy (4), May 11, M. at Bo^ie with St Cynllus and others. Their relics were taken to the monastery of St. Lambert, in Styria, by order of Innocent X. AA.SS. Stadler. St Dorothy (5), Jan. 15. An Irish woman of high rank, or, as the Martyro- logy of Salisbury has it, " Of grete blode, and whan she sholde haue ben maryed vnto a gentyle, she fledde onto a monas- tery of virgyns," where she was chosen abbess. Such was her contempt for earthly riches that, when she had touched money, she always said she must wash her hands " for touching of that fylthy mucke." {Mart, of Salisbury.) She is the same as Ita (1).
