Asterius, Claudius and Neon (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: Άστέριος, Κλαύδιος & Νεών) were a group of brothers who suffered

martyrdom A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In colloqui ...

. During the persecutions of

Diocletian Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...

, the three brothers were handed over to the

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a Roman consul, consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military ...

Cilicia Cilicia () is a geographical region in southern Anatolia, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilician plain (). The region inclu ...

, Lysias. They were

martyred A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In colloquial ...

along with two women, Domnina and Theonilla a

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died and has usually not remarried. The male form, "widower", is first attested in the 14th century, by the 19th century supplanting "widow" with reference to men. The adjecti ...

.St. Asterius and Companions
Catholic Online

Butler's account

The hagiographer

Alban Butler Alban Butler (13 October 171015 May 1773) was an English Roman Catholic priest and hagiography, hagiographer. Born in Northamptonshire, he studied at the English College, in Douai, Douay, France where he later taught philosophy and theology. He s ...

(1710–1773) recorded what is known of the trio and their companions in his ''Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Other Principal Saints''. In summary, Christians could be put to death if they refused to give cult to the Roman state's patron deities as part of the Great Persecution of the early 300s AD. The Romans attributed their success as a world power to their collective piety () in maintaining good relations with the gods. The persecution was widespread but sporadic, as it was up to "the humour of certain governors of provinces" whether and how harshly to implement the edicts. Brothers Claudius, Asterius, and Neon were denounced to the magistrate of Ægea "by their mother-in-law, whose principal view was to possess herself of their estate." They were put under arrest with two unrelated women, Domina and Theonilla, who were held for the same offence. When Lysias, proconsul of

, visited the city, he convened a tribunal. "Let them bring before me the Christians whom the officers have delivered to the city magistrate." The prisoners were presented to him one by one and offered "honours and rewards" if the Christians would sacrifice to the Roman gods, and he promised torture and death if they refused. Speaking on behalf of the brothers, Claudius not only refused but blasphemed the state gods. Each brother was tortured, and each refused to recant. The proconsul ordered them crucified. Domina and Theonilla were tortured to death after also refusing to perform the appropriate sacrifice. Once all five had died, "precautions ere takenwith regard to their dead bodies, that the Christians might not get possession of their relics."

References

Sources

* 303 deaths Saints from Roman Anatolia 4th-century Christian martyrs 4th-century Romans Year of birth unknown Groups of Christian martyrs of the Roman era {{Turkey-bio-stub