According to
tradition, Denise was martyred during the persecution of Christians by the Emperor
Decius, along with three men named Andrew, Paul, and Nichomachus. Nichomachus, "presumptuous and over-confident",
denied that he was a Christian after he was
tortured and was asked to perform a
sacrifice to the
Roman gods. However, as he was about to perform this task, he suffered a
convulsion and fell dead. Christian girl who vocalized her unhappiness regarding Nichomachus'
apostasy. She was brought before the
proconsul Optimus, and refused to abjure her faith. Optimus condemned her to be raped by several soldiers; however, according to tradition, she was "subjected to the approaches of three
libertines, but was protected by an
angel." Paul and Andrew were finally led to their execution, and were
stoned to death in the local arena. Denise managed to escape from prison and locate the bodies of the two men. She publicly expressed her desire to share their
martyrdom, was carried away by force, and was promptly ordered to be
beheaded by Optimus. ==Feast day==