Nereus and Achilleus

Of them we know only what Damasus had carved on their tomb in the fourth century, and that is already much: they had enlisted, carried out a tyrant's cruel orders out of fear, then, converted, threw down shields, cuirasses and javelins and confessed Christ. Damasus names neither emperor nor year, and the Bollandists refuse to date their martyrdom. The inscription, recovered in fragments in the catacomb of Domitilla, is among the oldest testimonies to Christian conscientious objection — and it ruins the later legend that made them eunuchs of Flavia Domitilla. A basilica rose over their grave.