The Arrows Of St. Sebastian

The martyrdom of St. Sebastian was portrayed in numerous religious paintings due to his popularity as patron saint of the Plague. Emperor Diocletian punished Sebastian for betraying his military oath to obey his emperor. The Divine Caesar sentenced him to be taken bound to a field supposed betrayal and killed by a squad of archers. According to Legenda Aurea "There the archers shot at him till he was as full of arrows as an urchin." His executioners left him for dead. The widow of Castulus, Irene of Rome, discovered Sebastian had survived the sentence. Once back in health Sebastian devoted himself to verbally attacking Diocletian, who finally ordered his bodyguard to beat the future saint to death. There was no saving him that time, although the Faithful retrieved his body from a sewer. His relics are scattered throughout Christendom, since Apollo the spreader of pestilence was also an archer. Early Christians prayed to Sebastian for relief from the plague. There was none. Oh, St. Sebastian, you died twice. Holy you are in the eyes of your Lord. And queers love you strapped to a tree as a gay icon.