Historical Context
Lucius's martyrdom in 310 falls within the Diocletianic persecution (303–313), the last and most severe imperial persecution of Christians. In the eastern provinces the persecution was continued by Maximinus II, who governed the East from 305 until 313 and pressed it actively up to the Edict of Serdica, which ended official persecution in the East on 30 April 311. Crete, as part of the Roman province of Creta et Cyrenaica, lay under eastern imperial authority during this period.
Enforcement of the persecution varied considerably from region to region, but prominent citizens who publicly confessed Christianity were often singled out. The synaxarion identifies Lucius as a senator, marking him as a member of the civic elite, and records that he was put to death by the sword. No surviving source names the governor of Crete who ordered his execution.