Soldiers in the Roman army and deeply attached to each other, they were both stationed in Militene, Armenia. The earliest account of Polyeuct’s martyrdom was written by Nearchus. The primary thread running through his narration is the desire of these two friends to spend eternity together. According to the text, when the emperor issues a new edict against Christians, Nearchus is terribly upset. He is worried that, since Polyeuct is a pagan and Nearchus a Christian, his own possible martyrdom and the eventual death of Polyeuct might lead to their being in separate places in the afterlife.
