This lengthy tale begins with Luke the Evangelist moving John the Baptist's hand from Casesarea to Antioch and then eventually to Rhodes.

During the time it was in Antioch, the city was plagued by a dragon that demanded yearly sacrifices, which the villagers gave. But when it came time for one man's daughter to go, the man bit off part of the hand and threw it into the dragon's mouth. It choked and immediately died.