Saint Irene of Thessalonica, also known as Saint Irene the Great Martyr, was an early Christian virgin martyr and daughter of a pagan ruler. During the reign of Roman Emperor Diocletian, Irene and her sisters, Agape and Chionia, also virgins, were arrested for hiding Christian scriptures and refusing to offer sacrifices to Roman idols. Tradition holds that Irene survived numerous severe tortures, including being trampled by wild horses, placed in heated bronze ovens, and exposed in a house of prostitution unharmed, before her death. Agape and Chionia were burned alive on 304 AD, while Irene was executed a few days later by an arrow.
