Saint Charalampos was an early Christian priest in Magnesia on the Maeander, a city in Asia Minor, in the diocese of the same name. His name Χαράλαμπος means glowing with joy in Greek. He lived during the reign of Septimius Severus (193–211), when Lucian was Proconsul of Magnesia. According to one source, at the time of his martyrdom in 202, Charalambos was 113 years old.
A Greek icon of Saint Charalampos, early 17th century
Magnesia or Magnesia on the Maeander was an ancient Greek city in Ionia, considerable in size, at an important location commercially and strategically in the triangle of Priene, Ephesus and Tralles. The city was named Magnesia, after the Magnetes from Thessaly who settled the area along with some Cretans. It was later called "on the Meander" to distinguish it from the nearby Lydian city Magnesia ad Sipylum. It was earlier the site of Leucophrys mentioned by several ancient writers.
The Propylaea of Magnesia on the Maeander
Coin of Themistocles as Governor of Magnesia. Rev: Letters ΘΕ, initials of Themistocles. Circa 465-459 BC
The Stadium at Magnesia, the best-preserved in the Anatolian region.
Archeptolis, son of Themistocles, ruled Magnesia circa 459-412 BC.
