Sebastian (died c. 268) was a Christian saint and martyr. He is said to have been killed during the Roman emperor Diocletian's persecution of Christians. He is usually depicted in art and literature tied to a post or tree and shot with arrows. This is the most common artistic depiction of Sebastian. However, he was rescued and healed by Irene of Rome. He then criticized the emperor, and was clubbed to death. He is venerated in both the Roman Catholic and the Orthodox churches.
Saint Sebastian is possibly the earliest gay icon. His strong and shirtless physique, symbolic arrow-pierced flesh, and rapturous look of pain combined have intrigued both gay and straight artists for centuries. This interest launched the first explicitly gay cult in the 19th century. Journalist Richard A. Kaye wrote, "contemporary gay men have seen in Sebastian at once a stunning advertisement for homosexual desire (indeed, a homoerotic ideal), and a prototypical portrait of tortured closet case." Because Saint Sebastian is a gay icon, Tennessee Williams chose to use that name for the martyred character Sebastian in his play, "Suddenly, Last Summer". The name was also used by Irish writer and poet Oscar Wilde (as Sebastian Melmoth) when in exile after his release from prison. Wilde was about as "out of the closet" as was possible for the late 19th century. He is himself considered a gay icon.
Menace II Society
Menace II Society, released May 26, 1993 by Warner Bros., is an American urban crime drama movie set in and around South Central Los Angeles. It is rated R by the MPAA for violence, intense language and drug use. Several different versions exist for this motion picture. The character Sharif was originally supposed to be played by Tupac Shakur, although Shakur was later fired due to a dispute in which he wanted to do play someone else, so Larenz Tate was his replacement. A prison riot scene was cut from this motion picture to avoid receiving an NC-17. "Menace II Society" received positive reviews by critics.
Aurelius and Natalia
Aurelius and Natalia (died 852) were Christian martyrs who were put to death during the reign of Abd ar-Rahman II, Emir of Córdoba. They are counted among the Martyrs of Córdoba. Aurelius and his wife Natalia were both the offspring of Muslim fathers. They were secretly Christians. Aurelius's cousin Felix and his wife Liliosa were also Christians. Under Sharia Law, all four of them were required to profess Islam. In time though all four began to openly profess the Christian faith. The two women would go about in public with their faces unveiled. They were all swiftly arrested as apostates from Islam. They were given four days to recant. They refused, and were beheaded. They were martyred with a local monk, George. He had openly spoken out against the Islamic prophet Mohammed. He had been offered a pardon as a foreigner. He chose instead to denounce Islam again and die with the others. They are considered saints in the Roman Catholic Church. Their feast day is July 27.
Charlotte Corday
Charlotte Corday (Marie-Anne Charlotte de Corday d'Armont, 27 July 1768 – 17 July 1793), was a figure of the French Revolution. In 1793, she was sent to the guillotine for the assassination of Jacobin leader Jean-Paul Marat. She blamed Marat for the more extreme course the Revolution had taken. He played a large role in the takedown of the Girondins. Corday believed in the Girondins' cause. In 1847, writer Alphonse de Lamartine gave Corday the nickname " (the Angel of Assassination).
Charlotte Corday was born in Saint-Saturnin-des-Ligneries, Orne in Normandy, France in 1768. Corday was from a family of minor aristocrats.
When Corday was a girl, her older sister and their mother, Charlotte Marie Jacqueline Gaultier de Mesnival died. Her father sent Corday and her younger sister to a convent in Caen. In the convent's library, Corday read the writing of Plutarch, Rousseau, and Voltaire After 1791, Corday lived in Caen with her cousin, Madame Le Coustellier de Bretteville-Gouville. They were very close. Corday was going to inherit her cousin's estate.
As the French Revolution became more and more extreme, Corday began to support the even more. She loved their speeches and liked many of the Girondins she met in Caen very much. She decided that she needed to do what the Girondins were doing. She thought that they were the party that would save France from the radicalism of the Jacobins. The Jacobins believed that France would be saved only by terrifying the people into obedience. They believed that violence was the only way. Corday and the Girondins did not agree with this approach. Corday decided to kill Marat, because she believed he was the most radical. She believed this because she blamed him for the September Massacres.
Jean-Paul Marat was a member of the radical Jacobin party that led the Reign of Terror. He wrote an important and widely read newspaper called " (the Friend of the People). Corday also blamed Marat for the civil war she thought would happen in France. She believed that Marat was bad for the future of France and that his death would stop the violence in France. She also believed that Louis XVI should not have been executed.
On July 9th, 1793, Corday left her cousin's estate and went to Paris, where she bought a knife. At her hotel, she wrote a letter to the French people. In the letter, she explained why she had killed Marat. She called it "" ("Address to the French people, friends of law and peace").
At first, she planned to assassinate Marat in front of the entire National Convention. However, Marat did not attend meetings anymore, because of a skin disease. She changed her plan and went to his home. The first time she came, Marat's wife, Simonne Evrard, did not let her come in. When she came back in the evening, Marat let her in. She gave him the names of Girondins in Caen, and he wrote them down. Then, she stabbed him with the knife she had bought. Marat called "" ("help me, my dear friend!") to his wife and died.
David, one of Marat's friends painted Marat's body. The painting became famous.
The moment was also painted by Baudry.
Corday said that she had planned to kill Marat alone. There was no evidence against this. Corday said that she "killed one man to save a hundred thousand" at her trial.
Four days after she killed Marat, Corday was execution via guillotine.
Corday's plan worked, but it also failed. The violence in France did not stop. Marat became a martyr.
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, KG (10 November 1565 – 25 February 1601) was an English nobleman and a favourite of Elizabeth I. He was politically ambitious, and a committed general. He was placed under house arrest following a poor campaign in Ireland during the Nine Years' War in 1599. In 1601 he led an abortive "coup d'état" against the government and was executed for treason. His story has been told in art and literature. Two well known examples are the opera "Roberto Devereux" by Gaetano Donizetti and the movie "The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex" starring Bette Davis and Errol Flynn.
Robert Devereux was one of Elizabeth I’s suitors, meaning he wanted to marry her.
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex is a 1939 historical movie. It is about the relationship between Queen Elizabeth I and Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex. The movie stars Bette Davis and Errol Flynn. The movie was directed by Michael Curtiz. It was based on the Maxwell Anderson play, "Elizabeth the Queen".
The play had been a Broadway success with Lynn Fontanne and Alfred Lunt in the lead roles. The supporting cast in the movie included Olivia de Havilland, Donald Crisp, Henry Daniell, Henry Stephenson, and Vincent Price. The score was composed by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. He later used a theme from the movie in his "Symphony in F sharp major".