She’s one of the most recognized figures in the Bible—and perhaps the most misunderstood. That might be why scholars just can’t quit chasing down the truth about Mary Magdalene.
She has been called a woman possessed by demons, a sex worker, and the wife of Jesus: Mary Magdalene’s story has been written and rewritten countless times in the 2,000 years since she was a follower of Jesus of Nazareth.
She may be one of the most recognized figures in the Bible, yet so much about Mary Magdalene remains shrouded in mystery. What is true about her—and what archaeological evidence do scholars have about her life and world?
Separating fact from fiction
Textual evidence about Mary Magdalene largely comes from the canonical Gospels credited to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. They identify her as part of Jesus’s circle and someone who went to his tomb to anoint his body on Easter morning. Yet they do not always agree on particulars about her life. Luke, for example, alleges demons possessed her, while others claim she witnessed Jesus’s crucifixion.
Additionally, non-canonical Gospels—early Christian writings that are not part of the New Testament—provide different accounts of Mary’s relationship with Jesus, including hints of a strong bond. Some of these texts make the point that “male disciples are dismissive of her because she is a woman.
What other information can scholars glean from these texts? Elizabeth Schrader Polczer, assistant professor of New Testament at Villanova University, observes that, “Mary Magdalene is never named in relation to a man, as many other women were. This suggests that Mary was an independent woman.”
This lack of certainty in biblical texts about Mary Magdalene’s life has fueled myths, misconceptions, and speculation. Chief among them: she was a sex worker. This myth dates to 591, when Pope Gregory I mistakenly conflated Mary with a figure the Gospel of Luke identified as a “sinner.” There’s no true evidence—but the notion has been hard to shake.
Looking for archaeological evidence in biblical lands
However, scholars do not only rely on textual evidence to examine the past. Archaeology has yielded significant discoveries of the world described in the Bible, even as it comes with challenges.
Archaeological evidence for the existence of an ancient figure has to be an inscription, say, in the mosaic floor of a synagogue or on a sarcophagus. As you can imagine, we usually find names of the wealthy or powerful or both inscribed on ancient objects.
Has there been such a discovery for Mary Magdalene? The logical starting point for an exploration of Mary’s world would be to excavate the place she was from. Traditionally, many have assumed the name “Magdalene” signified Mary’s place of birth: Magdala. As a result, she is often referred to as “Mary of Magdala.” Where exactly was Magdala? Early theologians didn’t know for sure.
It may have been near the Sea of Galilee. Archaeologist Marcela Zapata-Meza, director of the Magdala Archaeological Project from 2010 to 2024, points out that “there are stories of pilgrims who claim to have been in the house of Mary Magdalene on the shores of the Sea of Galilee,” the region where Jesus was active.
By the sixth century, early Christians began referring to a specific site as “Magdala”: the ruins of an ancient city situated on the western side of the Sea of Galilee.
However, Schrader Polczer, along with historian Joan E. Taylor, has argued there is no evidence that this site was Mary’s home. “During the first century, this location was known as [its Greek name] ‘Tarichaea,’” Schrader Polczer says. “It was not known as Magdala during Jesus’s lifetime.” She adds, “It’s a misconception to reference her as ‘Mary of Magdala,’ because no gospel author ever refers to Mary Magdalene in this way. Rather, the gospel authors consistently call her ‘Mary the Magdalene’ or ‘the Magdalene Mary.’ ‘Magdalene’ could also indicate an honorific title (‘Mary the Tower-ess’) rather than her hometown.”
Archaeological evidence could theoretically put to rest these questions. And excavations in Magdala do reveal useful insight into Mary’s world. In 2009, researchers uncovered an ancient synagogue there, along with a carved stone depicting a menorah, illustrating how first-century residents of Magdala may have practiced religion. They’ve also found the presence of stepped water installations in public and private spaces, which may have been used for ritual purification in the Jewish community, and would have certainly been a luxury. “All of these facilities receive groundwater, and that makes them the purest in all of Israel,” Zapata-Meza says.
But “there is no archaeological evidence about Mary Magdalene,” says Zapata-Meza. And while other researchers have claimed to have traced Mary’s remains to France or to a first-century tomb in Jerusalem, these claims have little credibility in the academic community.
Filling in the gaps
Scholars nonetheless continue to uncover tantalizing clues about Mary Magdalene’s life and work as long-lost ancient texts come to light.
Late 2023 saw the publication of P.Oxy 5577, a papyrus fragment from Egypt that may reveal crucial insights. “Mary Magdalene may well have been one of Jesus’s closest disciples,” says Schrader Polczer, “and this newly published papyrus fragment supports this possibility because Jesus instructs a woman named Mary in how to become ‘an image of the eternal incorruptible light.’” However, the papyrus does not explicitly identify the woman as Mary Magdalene.
Still, Schrader Polczer adds, the basic details of her life remain elusive. “There is much that will never be known about Mary Magdalene. We cannot be certain where she was born, who her family was, her age at the time of the crucifixion, or what happened to her after the events of Easter morning.”
So why do researchers continue to pursue the mystery of Mary Magdalene? Because her story offers glimpses into the history of Christianity—and because she was misunderstood for so long. While the dearth of evidence about her life has allowed myths to proliferate for hundreds of years, Schrader Polczer says “the silver lining is that Mary has served as a patron saint of sex workers and ‘fallen women’ throughout the centuries.”
Indeed, Mary Magdalene has become associated with people who have been historically marginalized, such as lepers; medieval and early modern leper hospitals were sometimes named after her. Many continue to see her as someone who stands for those whom society neglects, rejects, or overlooks.
“Mary Magdalene resonates deeply with many people who feel that their voices and stories have not been heard or valued,” Schrader Polczer says. “By bringing Mary to light, we may be recovering crucial and overlooked aspects of Jesus’s vision for humanity.”
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Was Mary Magdalene actually a rich woman?
The Gospels give some intriguing clues to the identity of Jesus’ famous follower—who was unwed, moved freely, and provided for the Apostles out of her own resources.
Jesus may have traveled to the town that Matthew refers to as Magadan, which could mean Magdala (in fact, certain Greek manuscripts actually use the word “Magdala”). Magdala was a major processing center of the Galilean fishing industry. Among others, it was renowned throughout the region for its fish sauce, a popular condiment in Antiquity.
One of Jesus’ followers actually came from Magdala. Her name was Mary, “the Magdalene,” but the Gospels give us very little information about her background. Unlike other women named “Mary” in the Gospels, Mary Magdalene appears to be unattached, which was unusual. As scholars K. C. Hanson and Douglas Oakman have argued, Palestine in the time of Jesus was an overwhelmingly patriarchal society. A woman was loved and respected, but her movements were subject to the consent of the senior man in the family. Unwed women were not supposed to leave their home without a relative as an escort, but apparently, Mary ignored such restrictions, and freely went wherever the Teacher went.
Who was Mary of Magdala?
The answer to this puzzle may be that Mary Magdalene hailed from an affluent family, and thus enjoyed a greater level of independence.
Luke suggests as much when he says that she belonged to a group of women who “provided for them out of their own resources” (Luke 8:2-3). There is no question, however, that by the end of Jesus’ ministry, Mary had become one of the rabbi’s most prominent followers. It is she who, together with another small group of women, stood fearlessly at Jesus’ cross after all the Apostles had gone into hiding, lest they be arrested and condemned as well (Mark 15:40-41).
“Companion” of Jesus
The relationship between Mary Magdalene and Jesus has been sensationalized in fictional thrillers like The Da Vinci Code. The sober truth, however, is that scholars have known about these so-called revelations for a long time, particularly since the discovery of the Nag Hammadi codices in Egypt in 1945. This collection includes a number of “Gospel”-type documents written for Gnostic Christian communities. The Gospel of Philip, for example, states that “the companion (koinōnos) of the [Savior is] Mary Magdalene.”
This does not necessarily imply a romantic relationship. The early second-century Gospel of Mary explains her exalted status because of her exemplary behavior and her clear grasp of Jesus’ vision. According to this Gnostic Gospel, it is Peter who asks Mary to “tell us the words of the Savior which you remember—which you know (but) we do not.”
Mary may have come into contact with Jesus because of his healing powers. “Seven demons had gone out of her,” says Luke (Luke 8:2). Some scholars believe that the Magdalene may be the same woman as Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, but there is no evidence to support this claim. Mary, or Miriam, was a very common name in first-century Palestine. Given the critical role that the Magdalene was destined to play in the aftermath of the Passion, there is no reason not to recognize her as an important follower and disciple in her own right.
Myth of the fallen woman
Elaine Pagels, one of the leading scholars of Gnostic texts, believes that Mary Magdalene came to exemplify the tensions between the early Church and Gnostic Christians. In many Gnostic groups, women worked as teachers, healers, and even priests—roles they did not always enjoy in the early Church.
Eventually, some Church traditions began to cast the Magdalene in a disparaging light, referring to her as “the penitent woman.” There is no evidence anywhere in the Gospels that Mary Magdalene lived a sinful or promiscuous life, but by the third century she had become fully assimilated with the unnamed woman in Luke, “a sinner,” who bathes Jesus’ feet with her tears, and dries them with her hair (Luke 7:38).
By the sixth century, Pope Gregory I declared Mary Magdalene to be a “fallen woman” guilty of “forbidden acts”—attributes of a prostitute, which would burden her through the centuries right through to the motion picture The Passion of the Christ. Not until 1969 did Pope Paul VI explicitly separate the figure of Mary Magdalene from the “sinful woman” character.
