Aristides Damalas (Greek: Aριστεíδης Δαμαλάς, alternative spellings Aristidis or Aristide; 15 January 1855 – 18 August 1889), known in France by the stage name Jacques Damala, was a Greek military officer-turned-actor, and husband of Sarah Bernhardt in his last years. Damala's characterisation by modern researchers is far from positive. His handsomeness was as notable as his insolence and Don Juan quality. Writer Fredy Germanos describes him as an opportunistic and hedonistic person, whose marriage to the great diva would inevitably intensify and maximise his vices, namely, his vanity and obsession with women, alcohol, and drugs.

Damala was born at Piraeus, Greece on 15 January 1855 to the noble Damalas family. He was the second of three children of Ambrosios Damalas (2 June 1808 – 29 July 1869), a wealthy shipping magnate, who later served as mayor of Ermoupoli and Piraeus and his wife, Calliope Ralli (6 June 1829 – 14 February 1891), whose father, Loukas Rallis, had also once served as mayor of Piraeus and Ermoupolis, Syros (he had also came up with the name "Ermoupoli") and was a member of the Executive Committee which attempted the liberation of Chios in 1827, during the Greek War of Independence.

The other children of Ambrouzis and Calliope were two sons, Ioannis (1845 – 1916) and Pavlos Damalas (17 July 1853 – 25 December 1925), and a daughter, Eirini (c. 1857 – ?). The family later moved to Marseille, France, where they spent several years until they moved to Ermoupoli, Syros after Ambrosios was appointed mayor there. The family later returned to Marseille and eventually to Piraeus.

After finishing school in Piraeus, Damala spent four years abroad, mainly in England and France, where he pursued diplomatic studies. He became acquainted with representatives of high society, as well as the theatre world, since he had the dream of excelling as an actor one day. He returned to Greece in 1878 and recruited in the army. He later trained in the Page Corps in Russia but eventually quit his studies there and returned to Paris.

By the early 1880s, he had earned a post as a military attaché to the Greek Diplomatic Corps. He quickly acquired a reputation as "the handsomest man in Europe", as well as the nickname "Diplomat Apollo" by his friends and attribution as the most dangerous man in Paris among husbands who feared their wives would fall victim to his charms and be seduced by the young diplomat. Damala was considered the epitome of handsomeness, and many women of high society in Paris were infatuated with him. He quickly earned the reputation of being a merciless heartbreaker and womaniser of the high circles. Besides his passion for women, he was also said to enjoy the company of young men. His affair with the wife of a Parisian banker, Paul Meisonnier, ruined the woman's reputation to the extent of forcing her to leave France. It was rumoured that he had driven two women to divorce and one to suicide. One of his documented affairs was with the young daughter of a Vaucluse magistrate who had left her parents and home to follow Damala to Paris, where he deserted her when their illegitimate child was born. The young girl was never heard from again; she is presumed to have committed suicide. Following these scandals, Damala was reassigned to Russia.

Before his transfer, he was introduced to Sarah Bernhardt by her half-sister Jeanne shortly before the summer of 1881. Damala and Jeanne belonged to a circle of well-known morphine-takers who were associated with the stage world. Damala had begun playing small parts as an amateur actor with the stage name of "Daria", and used to frequent the green rooms of theatres, along with fellow actors who shared a similar passion for morphine. He also frequented these places out of his desire to socialise with people from the theatre world and thus promoting his ambitions of becoming a great actor. Jeanne spoke to Bernhardt of Damala, and Bernhardt felt simultaneously repelled and fascinated by the prospect of meeting the most notorious man in Paris. Their meeting was a highly anticipated one from both parties. Madame Pierre Berton, who wrote a biography for Sarah Bernhardt, remarks the following:

"It was inevitable that Bernhardt, the famous actress, and Damala, the equally notorious bon-viveur, should eventually meet. Each knew the reputation of the other and their reputation was only the more whetted thereby...Bernhardt prided on her ability to conquer men, to reduce them to the level of slaves; Damala vaunted his ability as a hunter and a spoiler of women...Their two natures were inevitably attracted towards each other...Damala boasted to his friends that, as soon as he looked at her, the great Sarah Bernhardt would be counted in his long list of victims; and Bernhardt was no less certain that she had only to command for Damala to succumb".

The two soon met. Although Bernhardt was appalled by Damala's insolence toward her, she was strongly attracted to him and soon fell madly in love with him. During that period, Bernhardt was about to begin her world tour; knowing that Damala was transferred in Saint Petersburg and interested in meeting him again, she decided to arrange a six-month stay in Russia despite the fact she had previously and repeatedly rejected offers of making appearances there. Indeed, she resided in Saint Petersburg for a few months, as an official guest of Emperor Alexander III of Russia, during which her romance with Damala flourished. The openness of their affair scandalised the social circles of the city and proved a common topic of discussion.