Sebastian was an early Christian martyr killed in 288 in Rome on orders from the Roman emperor Diocletian. He was at first tied to a tree and shot with arrows, but after surviving that attack, he was clubbed to death by Diocletian's soldiers. Little is known about Sebastian’s love life, so his long-standing popularity with gay men is partly based on the sensuous presentation (near naked, writhing in ecstatic pain) of his arrow attack in the hundreds and hundreds of artistic portrayals over the centuries. Many gay men also identify with his suffering and his experience of being attacked. Sebastian is a known as protector against plague, which added to his appeal for the LGBTQ community during the AIDS pandemic.
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| Saint Sebastian and Matt Shepard Juxtaposed--JR Leveroni |
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| St. Sebastian--Pierre et Gilles |
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| St. Sebastian--Radek J. Husak |
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| St. Sebastian--Rick Herold |
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| St. Sebastian--Alfonso Del Moral |
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| St. Sebastian--Anthony Gayton |
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| St. Sebastian--Franco Zucchella |
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| St. Sebastian--Glyn Philpot |
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| St. Sebastian--Pierre et Gilles |
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| St. Sebastian--Kitti |
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| St. Sebastian--Radek J. Husak |
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| The Martyrdom of St. Sebastian--Keith Vaughan |
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