3rd century
Saint Leonides and the martyrs Charissa, Nike, Galina and their companions
Third-century martyrs of Corinth.
Biography
Leonidas, called "the champion of Epidaurus" in his hymn, and his female companions came from the Peloponnese and lived under Emperor Decius. They were arrested at Troezen during the days of Easter and brought before the governor of Corinth, who had Leonidas tortured and then had them all thrown into the sea together, bound with stones, on Holy Saturday.
In 1916, after repeated visions, residents of Epidaurus dug beneath the ruins of a church and found an icon of the Virgin Mary, the bones of seven women and a male skeleton bearing marks of strangulation, a discovery that tradition has linked to the martyrs' passion.