A companion of the apostle Paul. Aristarchus was a Macedonian from Thessalonica, possibly of Jewish ancestry. He is first mentioned as one of those seized by an angry mob in Ephesus (Acts 19:29).
Later, Aristarchus went with Paul on the return from his third missionary journey (Acts 20:4). He also went to Rome with Paul to face Caesar (Acts 27:1–2).
Paul described Aristarchus as a coworker (Philemon 1:24) and fellow prisoner. Paul received great comfort from Aristarchus' friendship (Colossians 4:10–11). Tradition says that Roman Emperor Nero killed Aristarchus in Rome as a martyr.