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According to legend, Catherine was the beautiful daughter of the pagan King Costus and Queen Sabinella, who governed Alexandria. However, we can not even be sure whether Catherine actually existed. Saint Catherine was never mentioned before the ninth century, and some assiduous research has failed to identify Catherine with any historical person.

Donald Attwater calls the story of St. Catherine the most preposterous legend of its kind, citing the lack of any positive evidence that she ever existed outside the mind of some Greek writer who first composed what he intended to be simply an edifying romance. Even her name, which comes from the Greek katharos, ('pure'), is suspiciously apt for a virgin martyr, raising the possibility that her legend originated as an allegory. With no reliable information about St. Catherine, we can not say that she was really related to King Costus or any other historical person.

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11y ago

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