A fifteenth century account relates that under Emperor Decius, the three were zealous persecutors of Christians. However, upon reading
Virgil's
Eclogue 4, they, like
Statius in the
Divine Comedy, became Christians. According to one version, they were baptized by a priest named Timotheus (Timothy) and confirmed by
Pope Sixtus II. By order of
Decius, they were arrested by the prefect Valerian and decapitated at Civitavecchia and then their bodies were thrown into the sea. In a second account, the place of their martyrdom was
appellatur Coloniacum, qui dicitur Colonia ("called Coloniacum, that is to say, Colonia"), which may be
Colonia Iulia Castrumnovurn. Their bodies were collected by a man named Deodatus and buried in that place. According to a third account, their cult was localized in the basilica of
San Pietro, Tuscania. ==Sources==