According to Irenaeus, Pothinus was born around the year 87, probably at
Smyrna. He was a disciple of
Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, and accompanied him to Rome in 158.
Pope Anicetus sent him to evangelize the Gauls. Pothinus established himself at Lyon, and founded there a flourishing Church, over which he presided for almost twenty years. in Lyon. Pothinus died at the age of ninety, around 177 AD,
martyred along with
Alexander, Attalus, Espagathus, Maturus, and
Sanctius, during
Persecution in Lyon during the tenure of Emperor
Marcus Aurelius. Pothinus and several companions were seized by a mob and taken to the magistrate; Pothinus is believed to have died from the abuse he suffered in prison, while the others were killed by wild beasts in the local
amphitheater. The similarity of the name
Pothinus and the
Old French verb
foutre lead to
syncretic amalgamation of Pothinus and
Priapus, under the
assimilated name
Saint Foutin. ==See also==