Bassa was the wife of an idolatrous pagan priest, but she lived secretly as a Christian. She educated her sons in Christianity. Her husband hated her because of her faith and gave her and her sons over to the judge for torture. After harsh tortures, her sons were beheaded. (t is believed that this occurred at Edessa in Macedonia.
Bassa was joyful when she saw her sons honourably completing their heroic martyrdoms for Christ. She, with even greater eagerness, went from torture to torture. When they threw Bassa into the sea to leave her to drown angels appeared and brought her to an island in the sea of Marmara. There she was later beheaded under the reign of Maximian. Thus, St. Bassa was made worthy of the kingdom of Christ in a two fold manner — as a martyr and as a mother of martyrs.