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Saints Cosmas and Damian were two Arab physicians, reputedly twin brothers, and early Christian martyrs. They practised their profession in the seaport of Aegeae, then in the Roman province of Syria. Accepting no payment for their services led to them being named anargyroi ('unmercenaries'); it has been said that, by this, they attracted many to the Christian faith. During the persecution under Diocletian, Cosmas and Damian were arrested by order of the prefect of Cilicia, one Lysias who is otherwise unknown, who ordered them under torture to recant. However, according to legend, they stayed true to their faith, enduring being hung on a cross, stoned and shot by arrows and finally suffering execution by beheading. Anthimus, Leontius and Euprepius, their younger brothers, who were inseparable from them throughout life, shared in their martyrdom.
This picture is an icon of Saints Cosmas and Damian, painted by French miniature painter and manuscript illuminator Jean Bourdichon for the Grandes Heures of Anne of Brittany, a book of hours produced in the early 16th century. Cosmas (left) is depicted with a urine bottle, while Damian (right) holds a medicine box. The icon, as well as the book of hours, is in the collection of the Bibliothèque nationale de France.Icon credit: Jean Bourdichon