Hesperus and Zoe were a married couple, and Cyriacus and Theodulus were their two sons. According to the synaxarion, the whole household belonged as slaves to an illustrious Roman named Catullus and lived at Attalia in Asia Minor. They are commemorated together as a single family of martyrs on May 2, having suffered in the second century during the persecution under the emperor Hadrian (117–138).
The four had been Christians from childhood, and Hesperus and Zoe raised their sons in the same faith. Though they served their earthly master, the tradition relates that they would not defile themselves with the meat and wine that had been offered to idols, which the household was expected to consume. By tradition, when such food was sent to them from the master's table, Zoe poured the wine upon the ground and threw the meat to the dogs rather than partake of it.
When their refusal came to light, Catullus learned that his slaves were Christians. The synaxarion relates that the parents were for a time sent away to the master's estate, but the family was brought back on the occasion of a celebration in the master's household. The two sons, Cyriacus and Theodulus, are said to have first wished to flee, but they received their mother's blessing to confess their faith openly instead.
By tradition, the sons were stripped, suspended from a tree, and torn with iron implements while their parents looked on; Hesperus and Zoe were then subjected to grievous tortures of their own. Finally all four were cast into a red-hot furnace, where, after offering prayers of thanksgiving, they surrendered their souls to God. The synaxarion relates that their bodies remained unharmed by the fire.
