Saint Sebastian (Svatý Šebestián) - Kresetice, Czech Republic
Posted by: 
vraatja
N 49° 54.445 E 015° 15.816
33U E 518928 N 5528370
Depicted Baroque statue of Saint Sebastian from 1st half of the 18th century in village Kresetice (Central Bohemia)
Waymark Code: WMY34F
Location: Středočeský kraj, Czechia
Date Posted: 04/11/2018
Views: 12
The sandstone statue located at the road in the centre of village Kresetice near Kutná Hora depicts an early Christian saint and martyr Saint Sebastian. The Baroque statue from unknown author comes from 1st half of the 18th century. Saint Sebastian is here traditionally depicted tied to a tree and shot with arrows. The arrows of the statue are gilded.
Short Biography
Saint Sebastian, (died c. 288, Rome, feast day January 20) was early Christian popularized by Renaissance painters and believed to have been martyred during the persecution of Christians by the Roman emperor Diocletian.
According to his legend, he was born in Gaul, went to Rome, and joined (c. 283) the army of the emperor Carinus, later becoming a captain under Diocletian. When it was discovered that he was a Christian who had converted many soldiers, Sebastian was ordered to be killed by arrows. The archers left him for dead, but a Christian widow nursed him back to health. He then presented himself before Diocletian, who condemned him to death by beating. His body, thrown into a sewer, was found by another pious woman, who dreamed that Sebastian told her to bury his remains near the catacombs. His relics are believed to be in the Basilica of San Sebastiano on the Appian Way, to which many pilgrims were attracted in the Middle Ages. Sebastian’s martyrdom was a favourite subject of Renaissance artists, and it was depicted by, among others, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Sandro Botticelli, Andrea Mantegna, Perugino, and El Greco; the saint is usually shown as a handsome youth pierced by arrows.
Biography cited from (
visit link)