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The most common medal, or medallion, of St. Sebastian shows him tied to a stake with arrows stuck into him. There is often an hovering angel near him, although not always.

St. Sebastian was martyred around 288. What is not so well known is that the medal does not actually depict his death- although he was indeed shot with many arrows because the Roman emperor Diocletian wanted him dead, he did not actually die at that time. St. Irene of Rome found him near death, still tied to the stake, and brought him to her house. St. Sebastian stood by the road and bothered Diocletian as he was passing by, so the emperor had him clubbed to death. His body was thrown into a latrine.

St. Sebastian is the patron saint of soldiers, so the other side of the medal often depicts a flag, and so it is sometimes sold as a patriotic symbol.

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14y ago

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