3

she encourages him to be of good courage, for having gone to her own Christ, she had interceded for him, and that she would pay him this reward for what he had done for her, not long after. And having said these things, she nobly endured her departure, with burning pitch poured around her. Not a long time after, Basilides, when asked by his fellow soldiers to take an oath for some reason, said that it was not lawful for him to swear at all, being a Christian; and they, at first thinking he was joking, led him to the magistrate, before whom, having confessed his steadfastness, he was handed over in chains. And when the brethren according to God came to him, and inquired the cause of his unexpected impulse, he said that he had seen the martyr Potamia, who, on the third day after her martyrdom, had appeared to him, and placed a crown on his 20.1525 head, and said that she had besought the Lord on his behalf, and had obtained her request, and that not long after He would receive him. Upon this, the brethren having given him the seal in the Lord, on the following day, having shone in the martyrdom of the Lord, he was beheaded.

3. When the persecution of Decius was stirred up in the same city of the Alexandrians,

very many of those who hoped in Christ were adorned with martyrdoms for his sake; of whom these also were. A certain old man, Metras, was seized by the common crowd at the beginning of the persecution, and when commanded to speak impious words, since he did not obey, being beaten on the body with clubs, and his face and eyes pierced with sharp reeds, at last was led to the suburb to be stoned, and thus committed his soul to the Lord. A certain woman called Quinta, since she would not obey to worship the idols, was led to an idol temple, having her feet bound with ropes, and dragged naked through the whole city, was brought to the same place, and was perfected by being stoned by the multitude. Apollonia, a virgin and aged woman, being compelled to sacrifice to idols, had her teeth broken, her jaws being struck; then a pyre being lit, when those who held her threatened to cast her into it, having begged for a little respite and been released, she quickly leaped into the fire, and was burned up. And after her, they seized Sarapion in his house, tortured him with cruel torments, and having broken all his limbs, they threw him headlong from the upper story. Julian, being afflicted with gout, and able neither to stand nor walk, was brought along with two other Christians who were carrying him; of whom one immediately denied; but the other, called Cronion, and Julian himself, after passing through the whole city mounted on camels, and at the same time being beaten by the multitude, were at last delivered to the fire; and a certain one of the soldiers, named Besas, who stood by them as they were being led away, and opposed those who were insulting them, was seized when they shouted, and was beheaded. And another, a Libyan by race, but Macar by name, when the judge persistently urged him to denial, since he was not persuaded, was delivered to the fire, and fitting to his name, attained a blessed end.

4. And after them Epimachus and Alexander, after the long time they remained

in bonds, having endured countless torments, scrapers and scourges, these also were consumed by fire. And three women were also brought forward, one of them called Ammonaria, when the judge had tortured her very contentiously, since she had declared beforehand that she would utter nothing of what he commanded, proving her promise true, she was led away; but the rest, Mercuria and Dionysia, he, being ashamed of the fruitless

3

θαῤῥεῖν παρακελεύεται, ἐξαιτήσασθαι γὰρ αὐτὸν ἀπελθοῦσαν παρὰ τοῦ ἑαυτῆς Χριστοῦ, καὶ ταύτην αὐτῷ τὴν ἀμοιβὴν, τῶν εἰς αὑτὴν πεπραγμένων, οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν ἀποτίσειν. Ταῦτα δ' εἰποῦσαν, γενναίως τὴν ἔξοδον ὑποστῆναι πίττης ἐμπύρου περιχυθείσης αὐτῇ. Οὐ μακρὸν δὲ χρόνον ὁ Βασιλείδης διαλιπὼν ὅρκον διά τινα αἰτίαν, πρὸς τῶν συστρατιωτῶν αἰτηθεὶς, μὴ ἐξεῖναι αὐτῷ, ἔφη, Χριστιανῷ γε ὄντι τὸ παράπαν ὀμνύναι· οἱ δὲ, παίζειν αὐτὸν τὰ πρῶτα νομίζοντες, ἄγουσιν ἐπὶ τὸν ἄρχοντα, ἐφ' οὗ τὴν εὔστασιν ὁμολογήσας δεσμοῖς παραδίδοται. Ἀφικομένων δὲ πρὸς αὐτὸν τῶν κατὰ Θεὸν ἀδελφῶν, καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν τῆς παραδόξου πυνθανομένων ὁρμῆς, τὴν μάρτυρα Ποταμίαν ἀνιδεῖν ἔφη, μετὰ τρίτην ἡμέραν τοῦ μαρτυρίου ἐπιστᾶσαν αὐτῷ, στέφανόν τε τῇ 20.1525 κεφαλῇ ἐπιθεῖσαν αὐτοῦ, παρακεκληκέναι τὸν Κύριον, χάριν αὐτοῦ φῆσαι, καὶ τῆς ἀξιώσεως τετυχηκέναι, οὐκ εἰς μακρόν τε αὐτὸν παραλήψεσθαι. Ἐπὶ τούτοις τῶν ἀδελφῶν τῆς ἐν Κυρίῳ σφραγῖδος μεταδόντων αὐτῷ, τῇ ἐφεξῆς ἡμέρᾳ, τῷ τοῦ Κυρίου διαπρέψας μαρτυρίῳ, τὴν κεφαλὴν ἀποτέμνεται.

Γʹ. Ἐπὶ ∆εκίου διωγμοῦ κινηθέντος ἐν τῇ αὐτῇ τῶν Ἀλεξανδρέων πόλει,

πλεῖστοι τῶν εἰς Χριστὸν ἠλπικότων τοῖς ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ μαρτυρίοις κατεκοσμήθησαν· ὧν καὶ οὗτοι ἐτύγχανον. Μητρᾶς τις πρεσβύτης περὶ τὰς ἀρχὰς τοῦ διωγμοῦ συλληφθεὶς ὑπὸ τοῦ δημώδους ὄχλου, καὶ ῥήματα ἄθεα λέγειν κελευσθεὶς, ἐπεὶ μὴ ἐπείθετο, ξύλοις τὸ σῶμα παιόμενος, καὶ καλάμοις ὀξέσι τὸ πρόσωπον κεντούμενος καὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς, τέλος εἰς τὸ προάστειον ἀχθεὶς καθελέσθαι, καὶ οὕτω τὴν ψυχὴν τῷ Κυρίῳ παρέθετο. Γυνή τις καλουμένη Κοΐντα, ἐπεὶ μὴ ἐπείθετο τοῖς εἰδώλοις προσκυνεῖν, εἰς εἰδωλεῖον ἀχθεῖσα, σχοίνοις δεθεῖσα τοὺς πόδας, καὶ διὰ πάσης γυμνὴ συρεῖσα τῆς πόλεως, ἐπὶ τὸν αὐτὸν ἀχθεῖσα τόπον, λίθοις ὑπὸ τοῦ πλήθους βαλλομένη ἐτελειώθη. Ἀπολλωνία ἡ παρθένος τε καὶ πρεσβῦτις ἀναγκαζομένη εἰδώλοις θῦσαι, τοὺς ὀδόντας ἐζημίωτο κοπτομένη τὰς σιαγόνας· εἶθ' οὕτως πυρᾶς ἀναφθείσης, ἀπειλοῦντας εἰς αὐτὴν ἐμβαλεῖν τοὺς κατέχοντας, μικρὸν ὑποπαραιτησαμένη καὶ ἀναθεῖσα, συντόνως ἐπεπήδησεν εἰς τὸ πῦρ, καὶ καταπέφλεκται. Καὶ μετ' αὐτὴν Σαραπίωνα καταλαβόντες ἐφέστιον, σκληραῖς βασάνοις αἰκισάμενοι, καὶ πάντα τὰ ἄρθρα διακλάσαντες, ἀπὸ τοῦ ὑπερῴου πρηνῆ κατέῤῥιψαν. Ἰουλιανὸς ποδαγρὸς ὢν, καὶ μήτε στῆναι, μήτε βαδίσαι δυνάμενος, ἅμα δυσὶν ἑτέροις Χριστιανοῖς, τοῖς αὐτὸν φέρουσι προσήχθη· ὧν ὁ μὲν ἕτερος εὐθὺς ἠρνήσατο· ἅτερος δὲ Κρονίων καλούμενος, καὶ αὐτὸς Ἰουλιανὸς, διὰ πάσης τῆς πόλεως καμήλοις ἐποχούμενοι διελθόντες, καὶ ἅμα ὑπὸ τοῦ πλήθους παιόμενοι, τέλος πυρὶ παρεδόθησαν· καί τις τῶν στρατιωτῶν Βησᾶς καλούμενος, παραστὰς ἀπαγομένοις αὐτοῖς, καὶ τοῖς ἐφυβρίζουσιν ἐναντιωθεὶς, ἐμβοησάντων αὐτῶν περιεσχέθη, καὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν ἀπετμήθη. Ἕτερος δέ τις τὸ μὲν γένος Λίβυς ὑπάρχων, Μάκαρ δὲ τὴν προσηγορίαν, ἐπιμόνως αὐτὸν τοῦ δικαστοῦ προτρεπομένου πρὸς ἄρνησιν, ἐπεὶ μὴ ἐπείσθη, πυρὶ παραδοθεὶς, φερωνύμως τοῦ μακαρίου τετύχηκε τέλους.

∆ʹ. Ἐπίμαχός τε μετ' αὐτοὺς καὶ Ἀλέξανδρος, μετὰ πολὺν ὃν ἔμειναν

δεσμῶται χρόνον, μυρίας βασάνους διενεγκόντες, ξυστῆράς τε καὶ μάστιγας πυρὶ καὶ οὗτοι ἐφλέχθησαν. Καὶ γυναῖκες δὲ τρεῖς τὸν ἀριθμὸν προσαχθεῖσαι, ἡ μὲν αὐτῶν Ἀμμωναρία καλουμένη, πάνυ φιλονείκως αὐτὴν τοῦ δικαστοῦ βασανίσαντος, ἅτε προαποφηναμένην, ὅτι μηδὲν ὧν ἐκεῖνος κελεύει φθέγξοιτο, ἀληθεύσασα τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν ἀπήχθη· αἱ δὲ λοιπαὶ, Μερκουρία καὶ ∆ιονυσία, αἰδεσθέντος ἀνηνύτοις