Biography
Glyceria of Heraclea
About Glyceria of Heraclea
Glyceria is remembered as a Christian martyr associated with Heraclea in Thrace. The current Roman Martyrology lists her on July 8, while Orthodox churches commemorate her on May 13. An older Roman Martyrology used May 13 as well. These calendars preserve her name and place of veneration, but they do not establish a precise birth date, death year, or full biography.
The OCA's life tells of a young woman who refused to sacrifice to pagan gods and endured imprisonment and repeated ordeals before dying at Heraclea. The *Acts* supply family names, speeches, striking miracles, and a detailed itinerary. A source-critical Catholic review notes that the narrative uses motifs common to many martyr lives. Those elements should be described as received tradition rather than independently verified second-century events.
The strongest supported profile is therefore brief: Glyceria's identity as a martyr of Heraclea, her distinct observances, and the limits of the late narrative. Neither the inherited Roman May 13 field nor the apparent typo in the current Vatican entry should be allowed to erase the Orthodox date or fabricate an exact year of death.
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