Agatha, Saint

flourished 3rd century AD?, Sicily; feast day February 5

Legendary Christian martyr.

Born in Palermo or Catania, she resisted the advances of a Roman prefect sent to govern Sicily. After brutal torture she was sent to the stake, but as the fire was lit a great earthquake occurred, and the crowd demanded her release. She was led away to prison, where she died. Though she appears in lists of martyrs as early as the 6th century, the legend may be unfounded.

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▪ Sicilian martyr

flourished 3rd century AD?, Sicily; feast day February 5

      legendary Christian saint and martyr, cited in the martyrology of St. Jerome, the Calendar of Carthage (c. 530), and other works. Palermo and Catania both claim to be her birthplace.

      The traditional particulars of her martyrdom are of no historical value; according to them she resisted the advances of a Roman prefect sent by the emperor Decius to govern Sicily and was thereupon brutally tortured, her breasts being cut off (a condition reflected in her iconography). She was sent to the stake, but, according to some versions, as soon as the fire was lighted, an earthquake occurred, causing the people to insist upon her release; she then allegedly died in prison.

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