E02110: The Greek Martyrdom of *Basiliskos (martyr of Komana in Pontus, S00388), of the 6th c. or later, recounts the martyrdom of a Christian arrested in Amaseia, and executed in Komana, after a journey through the villages of Pontus (northern Asia Minor). Presumably written in Pontus.

Martyrdom of Basiliskos (BHG 241)

Summary:

1. Under Maximian, an evil governor called Agrippas, successor of Asklepiodotos forces Christians to sacrifice. Basiliskos is in gaol, distressed by having been separated from his companions. A voice from heaven encourages him. In the morning he asks his guards to allow him to visit his relatives at the village of Choumiala, before his martyrdom. They go with him.

2. They arrive at Basiliskos’ home and visit his mother, brothers, and other relatives. He asks for their prayers, and returns to Amaseia. The governor is about to offer sacrifices at a temple called Petassos, and the temple of Serapis, in the same city. He is informed about Basiliskos and orders that he and the other prisoners be taken to Komana fettered, and that he be flogged during the journey. They nail iron shoes onto his feet.

3. On the way, the saint recites Psalms 27 and 117. They arrive at the village of Dakozara, which is owned by a pagan lady called Troiane. She offers hospitality to the guards of Basiliskos, and, while they have dinner, the martyr is bound to a withered plane tree. While the saint prays, the land trembles, the tree sprouts, and a spring of water flows at the spot. The people venerate the saint.

4. The lady of the village and her house convert to Christianity, and bring possessed people to be healed by the martyr. The soldiers guarding the saint are converted as well. They arrive at a village, where the soldiers have a meal, but the saint refuses to eat.

5. They arrive at Komana. The governor summons Basiliskos to the temple of Apollo, where he interrogates him and orders him to sacrifice. Basiliskos makes his apologia of the Christian faith, and renounces the pagan god.

6. The martyr offers up a prayer, and fire comes down from heaven, destroying the statue. Enraged, the governor accuses Basiliskos of magic and condemns him to death. He is decapitated at the so-called place of Dioskouros outside Komana, and his body is thrown away in the wilderness. A man called Marinos offers money to the executioners and collects the body of the martyr, which he buries in Komana and builds a shrine (martyrion) that becomes a site of miracles.

Summary: Efthymios Rizos.