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The grieviously wounded
Sebastian was left for
dead, but whether by luck,
by strength or Divine
intervention, he miraculously
survived. He was discovered
and nursed back to health
by St. Irene, the widow
of another Christian martyr.
His own death and martyrdom
came soon after when he
travelled to the palace
of the Emperor for a final
confrontation. Diocletian
gave the command to have
Sebastian beaten to death,
and his corpse was disposed
of in a sewer. The body
was retrieved and buried
with reverence by his
fellow Christians beside
the Appian Way.
In contemporary times,
St. Sebastian has become
a homoerotic icon because
of the many nude depictions
of him in the flower of
youth, pierced by the
arrows of persecution.
Oscar Wilde is said to
have praised the painting
of Sebastian by Guido
Reni as that artist's
most sublime work.
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