Ascetic Life and Struggle Against Temptation
According to the synaxarion, Martinian entered the eremitic life at eighteen in the desert near Caesarea in Palestine, where he passed about twenty-five years in ascetic deeds and silence, healing illness and casting out demons.
Tradition relates that a woman of dissolute life wagered she could seduce the famous ascetic. Arriving at his cell one night in shabby clothing and claiming to be lost in a storm, she sought shelter, and the next morning revealed herself adorned in fine clothes and jewels in an attempt to seduce him. Martinian resisted by means of self-mortification: the accounts describe him stepping into a fire and setting his bare feet upon burning coals, declaring that he would not yield to temptation even as the flames burned him.
Witnessing his resolve, the woman repented. She took the name Zoe and, at Martinian's direction, entered the monastery founded by Saint Paula at Bethlehem, where by tradition she lived twelve years in strict asceticism until her repose.
The Island and the Wandering Life
After his burns had healed, Martinian withdrew to an uninhabited rocky island, where he lived for several years sustained by provisions brought by a sailor; by one account he received these in exchange for the baskets he wove.
The synaxarion relates that a young woman named Photina was shipwrecked on the island during a storm. Martinian provided her shelter and sustenance but refused to remain with her, casting himself into the sea; tradition holds that dolphins carried him to land. Photina remained on the island for some years until her death, and her incorrupt relics were said to have been later discovered and brought to Caesarea with honor.
Martinian then took up a wandering life. After a period of wandering he came to Athens, where he fell ill; he entered a church, lay upon the floor, and asked the bishop to bury him. He died around the year 422, and the Bishop of Athens, by tradition divinely informed of his identity, buried his body with honor.
Relics & Shrines
Tradition relates that the incorrupt relics of Saint Photina, who died on the island where Martinian had lived, were eventually discovered and brought to Caesarea with honor.
Martinian himself died at Athens, where the bishop, by tradition divinely informed of who he was, buried him with honor.
Miracles & Traditions
Historically Documented: The vita records that during his years near Caesarea, Martinian possessed a gift of healing illnesses and casting out demons.
Traditional Accounts: The synaxarion relates that, after leaving the maiden Photina on the island, Martinian cast himself into the sea and was carried to land by dolphins. By tradition the Bishop of Athens was divinely informed of his identity so as to bury him with honor.
