The idea of martyrdom is associated with suffering.
Martyrdom is the suffering, torment and/or death that a person suffers because of their religion or ideals . The concept, coming from the Latin martyrĭum , began to be used to refer to the suffering suffered by Christians because of their religious beliefs.
The person who dies defending a cause is called a martyr . His death is seen as a sacrifice that allows him to bear witness to his faith or ideal. For example: "The dissident experienced a true martyrdom during his imprisonment" , "The opponent was tortured and suffered a long martyrdom before being shot" , "I am not willing to experience martyrdom for this cause" .
Martyrdom in Christianity
Christian martyrs were those killed for their religion in the first three centuries after Christ . Many of them were even crucified and bled to death on the cross .
Among the main martyrs of the Catholic Church are the following:
- San Sebastián , who was shot and finally died with a garrote.
- Saint Vincent , who was torn with iron nails and who would finally die roasted on a grill.
- Saint Luke , who was hanged from a tree.
- Saint John , who suffered his martyrdom by being thrown into boiling oil.
The concept of martyrdom is common in religion and art.
Inspiration for art
Art has been inspired for centuries by martyrs and the punishments they suffered for defending their religious ideas. Among the most important works in this regard, we should highlight the one known as "The Martyrdom of the Ten Thousand Christians" , which dates back to 1508 and was painted by the German Albrecht Dürer .
Frederick III of Saxony was the one who ordered the carrying out of this work, which was intended not only to pay tribute to all those martyrs in history but also to decorate a room in which presumably there were relics of some of them.
However, we cannot forget another famous oil painting such as "Martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew" , which was made by José de Ribera . It was in 1644 that he painted the one in which the death of the character that gives it its title is recreated. It is currently exhibited in the National Museum of Art of Catalonia .
Martyrdoms in other religions
Other religions have their own martyrs or heroes whom they consider martyrs.
In the most radicalized branches of Islam , those who commit suicide attacks are considered to be martyrs who sacrifice themselves in the name of Allah : "The suicide bomber who caused fifteen deaths in the center of Baghdad left a letter defining himself as a martyr of the War." Santa»
More uses of the term
In its broadest sense, the concept of martyrdom allows us to name very intense pain or suffering and long and arduous work : «Do I have to go up to the roof again to remove the leaves? "That's a martyrdom!" , "The harsh illness that she was forced to endure was a martyrdom that seemed to never end."
In addition to all this, we would have to highlight that in Spain there is a singer who goes by the name Martirio . She is a native of Huelva who is identified because she always wears dark glasses and because her music is a mix of copla, flamenco, pop, rock and bolero.