give themselves up peacefully. They are taken to Hierapolis, where they drown themselves in a river, while the soldiers have their meal. Some people say that their husband/father helped them. Their drowning was a new baptism, i.e. martyrdom, and this kind of baptism can be administered even by women. Thus their mother became a priestess, baptising her daughters in martyrdom, and offering them as a sacrifice to God. She suffered a triple martyrdom – her own and of her two daughters. The woman did not go to the court, because of her great eagerness to earn the wreath of her victory, even before the contest started. She was not afraid of torments, but was afraid about the virginity of her daughters. Her suffering was greater than any martyrdom, because she found herself compelled to assist in the death of her own daughters. The girls themselves are also admirable, because they did not resist. They left their shoes by the river, thus providing for the soldiers who could present them as a proof to the judge, and escape charges of treason. The author invites his audience to embrace the coffins (thekai) of the martyrs with fervour, because their bones have great power. Their veneration should not be confined to their feast-day. According to Eusebius, Domnina was a Christian noblewoman from Antioch who had two young daughters. According to one account, Domnina and her daughters settled at Edessa, Mesopotamia. Her husband was a pagan. Domnina was arrested by soldiers for her adherence to the Christian religion. Fearing that the soldiers would rape her and her daughters, they threw themselves into a river after they asked their guards for a chance to rest for a while or after the soldiers had become drunk with wine. All three women drowned. The account of St. John Chrysostom tells a slightly different story: according to Chrysostom, Domnina, after jumping into the river, pulled her daughters in with her to prevent them from being raped. Chrysostom praised Domnina for her courage and Domnina's daughters for their obedience. References Syrian Christian saints 4th-century Christian martyrs 310 deaths Groups of Christian martyrs of the Roman era Year of birth unknown Ante-Nicene Christian female saints 4th-century Roman women