She was martyred sometime during the mid-third century, either during the reign of Roman Emperor Claudius Gothicus or Trebonianus Gallus.

Said to have been of royal or noble blood, Aurea was exiled from Rome to Ostia because she was a Christian.

[4] Seventeen soldiers[a] converted to Christianity as a result of this miracle, and were later beheaded near Ostia's Arch of Caracalla.

Another states that Aurea and her friends also brought back to life the dead son of a shoemaker.

When she refused to sacrifice to the Roman gods, she was thrown into the sea with a stone tied around her neck.