Ss Protus and Hyacinth

Protus and Hyacinth are best approached through a short and severe page, because the honest core is stronger than a colorful legend. They are known with certainty as martyrs of ancient Roman cult through the Depositio martyrum and through the old burial memory on the Salarian Way. Special attention falls on the 1845 opening of Hyacinth's grave in the cemetery of Basilla, where the inscription naming Hyacinth the martyr was found and the relics themselves gave witness to an ancient martyrdom, apparently by fire. A nearby fragment also pointed to Protus.

This firm liturgical and archaeological footing must be sharply separated from the later acts that make them servants of St Eugenia, a story treated as entirely fictitious. So this life does not attempt a full romantic life. It tells what is solid and asks that these martyrs be honored there.