Beautiful legends have grown up around these two saints. It's been said that they were brothers, maybe even twins, who were trained by physicians.  In Christian charity, they would take no money for their services.  They refused to sacrifice to idols, and so they were tortured by government police and then thrown into the sea.

Cosmas and Damian are patron saints of doctors, surgeons and druggists.  People pray to them in times of epidemic diseases.

Because the legends describe them as twin brothers, they are also the patron saints of twins.  In Africa the legend of Cosmas and Damian got mixed up with other legends about twins.  In the past, some people thought that being a twin was a curse.  But African Christians pointed to the stories of Cosmas and Damian to say that being a twin is a blessing and a joy.   Nowadays among Christians in Africa, twins are considered a special sign of God's grace.