(governor of the people ), most probably a contraction from Demetrius or perhaps from Demarchus, a companion of St. Paul, ( Philemon 1:24 ; Colossians 4:14 ) during his first imprisonment at Rome. (A.D. 57.) At a later period, ( 2 Timothy 4:10 ) we find him mentioned as having deserted the apostle through love of this present world, and gone to Thessalonica.