06 works, Today, December 23rd, is The Ten Holy Martyrs of Crete's day, their story, illustrated #355

Unknown iconographer

 The Ten Holy Martyrs of Crete

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The Ten Holy Martyrs of Crete were a group of ten Christian men from Crete who suffered martyrdom during the persecutions of emperor Decius during the third century.

Antonios Alexandrides

Apostle Paul preaching in Crete, c. 1880–82

Oil on wooden panel

Transfiguration sanctuary screen

Μonastery of Epanosifi, Heraklion, Crete

Antonios Alexandrides (1837–1912), studied at the Academy of Vienna (1860–64). I didn't find any more information for this artist.

At the end of the second century AD, Christianity was spreading across Crete thanks to the earlier work of the Apostle Titus, a Cretan who was student to the Apostle Paul who landed on the island around 62AD.  

During the reign of the Roman emperor  from 249 to 251 though, who wanted the whole of the Roman Empire to worship his name, a shrine was set up in Gortyn, and a great celebration declared to worship the Emperor Decius, god of Rome.

Antonios Alexandrides

The Ten Martyrs of Crete, c. 1880–82

Oil on wooden panel

Transfiguration sanctuary screen

Μonastery of Epanosifi, Heraklion, Crete

Antonios Alexandrides (1837–1912), studied at the Academy of Vienna (1860–64). I didn't find any more information for this artist.

Although Gortyn was by now becoming a Christian city, no one argued with the Emperor of Rome. So everyone in Gortyn went through the motions watched by the Romans. All except ten men who used the moment to protest saying that no one should be worshipped except the true god, Jesus Christ. Consequently all ten were arrested.

Theodulus, Saturninus, Euporus, Gelasius, Eunician, who all were from Gortyn, Zoticus from Knossos, Pompius from Lebena, Agathopus from Panormos, Basilides from Kydonia (Hania), and Evaristus from Iraklion were brought before the governor of Crete, also named Decius. At their trial they steadfastly confessed their faith in Christ and refused to worship the emperor and other idols.

Unknown iconographer

They were sentenced by the governor of Crete to be beheaded

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Georgios Kastrophilakas the Cretan

They were sentenced by the governor of Crete to be beheaded

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The Sinai Icon Collection

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I could not find any information about Georgios Kastrophilakas

The men were then imprisoned and tortured for one month. But the torture did not change their opinions, and they continued to glorifying God. They were sentenced by the governor of Crete to be beheaded. Before their death they prayed that the Lord would enlighten their torturers with the light of the true Faith. Their executions took place in Alonion, a part of Gortyn now known to have been the main amphitheater of Gortyn.

Unknown iconographer

Their executions took place in Alonion

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The Sinai Icon Collection

During the reign of emperor Constantine I, the bodies of the ten saints were reburied. The site of the reburial is reported differently. In one, St. Paul of Constantinople is said to have taken the relics of the holy martyrs to Constantinople to serve as a protection for the city, and a source of blessings for the faithful. Another relates to a 1981 discovery of a sarcophagi during rescue excavation in Alonion of Gortyn as the burial site. More on The Ten Holy Martyrs of Crete