ABSTRACT
The warrior saints who have so far been presented were all martyred during the reign of persecuting emperors including that of Julian the Apostate. Their Passions, moreover, were cast in the hagiographical style of the fourth and fifth centuries. St Arethas lived in the sixth century; consequently the circumstances of his martyrdom, the historical value of the literary texts and his introduction into the Byzantine calendar have little in common with those of his predecessors.
