Saint Sebastian, one of the first Christian saints and martyrs, was the commander of one of the troops called the guards in the Roman Empire, which ensured the security of the emperor both in Rome and on the battlefield.
Saint Sebastian was a Christian who lived in the 3rd century, became a captain in the troops of the Roman Empire, and was martyred in his thirties. Of course, the empire of the period had not yet accepted Christianity as the official religion - another century was needed for this - and Christians were hated.
Sebastian (Latin: Sebastianus; c. AD 255 – c. AD 288) was an early Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Diocletianic Persecution of Christians. He was initially tied to a post or tree and shot with arrows, though this did not kill him. He was, according to tradition, rescued and healed by Irene of Rome, which became a popular subject in 17th-century painting. In all versions of the story, shortly after his recovery he went to Diocletian to warn him about his sins, and as a result was clubbed to death. He is venerated in the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church.
Saint Sebastian also had to live as a secret Christian. Since he was a captain, he encouraged the Christians in prison and converted many Romans, even the commanders-in-chief of the troops. When this situation was realized, Sebastian was shot with countless arrows and left to die. Although he was later healed by a devout Christian woman, he was killed with a mace when he challenged the emperor again.
Interesting details from the life story of St. Sebastian
By hiding his Christian identity, he took on a personal mission to convert the other soldiers around him from the polytheistic Pagan religion of Rome to Christianity.
However, these actions were discovered after a while and reached Emperor Diocletian, who was famous for his persecution of Christians.
The Emperor had Sebastian tied to a pole and ordered his soldiers to shoot arrows.
Sebastian, whose whole body was riddled with arrows shot by the soldiers, was then impaled and left to die. But miraculously he did not die.
Sebastian was saved by a Roman woman named Irene, who was later known as Saint.
Sebastian, who survived the arrows and recovered, continued to criticize the emperor by remaining stubborn. Then he was caught by soldiers and beaten to death with sticks. Sebastian's dead body was thrown into the sewer in an inhumane way.
St. Sebastian, who influenced many Renaissance artists, was the subject of paintings by many painters.
The most important of these paintings is the oil painting made by the Italian High Renaissance artist Rafael between 1501 and 1502.
The oil painting of Saint Sebastian painted by Rafael is preserved today in the Accademia Carrara museum in Bergamo, Italy.