{"id":16311,"date":"2025-08-01T01:47:03","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T23:47:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/behold.mt\/?post_type=talba-bl-arti&p=16311"},"modified":"2025-08-01T01:47:05","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T23:47:05","slug":"saint-lawrence-the-martyr-and-hercules-the-hero","status":"publish","type":"talba-bl-arti","link":"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/talba-bl-arti\/saint-lawrence-the-martyr-and-hercules-the-hero\/","title":{"rendered":"Saint Lawrence the Martyr and Hercules the Hero"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Fourth Reflection on the Titular Painting of the Collegiate Church of Saint Lawrence, Birgu<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main movement of the painting occurs in the lower section of the canvas, where we seem to notice a semi-circular reversed arch, with its highest points being Cornelius, the Prefect of Rome, and the gilded idol upon a massive pedestal. Near Saint Lawrence, we also glimpse an elderly man\u2014likely a pagan priest\u2014pointing his finger at this false idol and making a final attempt to persuade Deacon Lawrence to change his mind and not waste his youth in vain. But Lawrence was resolute, and his \u201cAmen\u201d for Christ remained unwavering to the very end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The elevated idol represents Hercules, who, strictly speaking, was not a god. Although he was the son of Jupiter, the god of the sky and king of the gods (the equivalent of Zeus in Greek mythology), his mother Alcmene was a mortal woman. As such, Hercules was still mortal\u2014he had to die\u2014but upon his death, he joined the gods of Olympus. Hercules is better known as a hero, both in Greek and Roman mythology: a defender of the weak and a great protector. In artistic depictions, he is often shown with a large club in hand\u2014as seen here\u2014through which he slew the giant Cacus, who terrorised the people of the Roman countryside with fire spewing from his mouth before the city was founded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the immoralities of his life\u2014which were the norm in Greco-Roman culture\u2014and notwithstanding his concern for those in need, Hercules the hero contrasts strongly with the martyr Saint Lawrence. The hero is admired for his courage, for some marvellous deed he performed, or for his noble qualities. In the story of the hero, the hero himself is at the centre. The pinnacle of his life is the mission or feat he accomplishes, and the rest of his life passes quietly until his candle is extinguished and darkness falls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In contrast, the martyr is a witness\u2014the Greek word \u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03c5\u03c1\u03af\u03b1 (martyria) literally means witness. This immediately shows us that he is not the centre\u2014someone else is. This is somewhat like when we say that, as Christians, we are to set a good example, but in doing so we still remain at the centre, like exemplary heroes. Whereas we are not meant to give a good example\u2014we are meant to bear witness: witness, because the centre is not the self, but God. A Christian is always a martyr, a witness, or else he is not truly a Christian at all. A martyr, even if his blood is not shed, is always ready to die daily to himself, because his heart burns with love for God and for his neighbour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pinnacle for the martyr\u2014for the Christian witness\u2014is not in achievements or works performed. The pinnacle is union with God, because, as Saint Irenaeus of Lyon says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is why the Word became man and the Son of God became the son of man: so that man might become a son of God by sharing in the Word and thus attain divine sonship. <\/p>Saint Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses<\/em>, 3.19.1 (PG 7, 939)<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The life of the martyr-witness is never quiet while evil remains, while there are still brothers and sisters in need of service, and souls in need of salvation. Just as \u201ca city built on a hill cannot be hidden\u201d (Mt 5:14), so too can there be no hidden or anonymous Christians. Living out the Christian faith cannot be relegated to the private sphere, because, like Saint Lawrence, we are called to be martyrs everywhere. Like Saint Lawrence, we are always called to be witnesses: witnesses who cannot be hidden, witnesses who shine and are seen with the light of the world they have become through their union with Him who is the Light of the World\u2014Jesus Christ. This is the faith that grants us the freedom of the children of God, as opposed to the slavery of those who believe in idols and heroes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":16138,"template":"","rizors":[],"yoast_head":"\nSaint Lawrence the Martyr and Hercules the Hero - Behold<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/talba-bl-arti\/saint-lawrence-the-martyr-and-hercules-the-hero\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Saint Lawrence the Martyr and Hercules the Hero - Behold\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Fourth Reflection on the Titular Painting of the Collegiate Church of Saint Lawrence, Birgu The main movement of the painting occurs in the lower section of the canvas, where we seem to notice a semi-circular reversed arch, with its highest points being Cornelius, the Prefect of Rome, and the gilded idol upon a massive pedestal. Near Saint Lawrence, we also glimpse an elderly man\u2014likely a pagan priest\u2014pointing his finger at this false idol and making a final attempt to persuade Deacon Lawrence to change his mind and not waste his youth in vain... Read more »\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/talba-bl-arti\/saint-lawrence-the-martyr-and-hercules-the-hero\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Behold\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-31T23:47:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/behold.mt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/San-Lawrenz-Preti.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1260\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"911\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/behold.mt\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/behold.mt\/\",\"name\":\"Behold\",\"description\":\"Archdiocese of Malta\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/behold.mt\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/talba-bl-arti\/saint-lawrence-the-martyr-and-hercules-the-hero\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/behold.mt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/San-Lawrenz-Preti.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/behold.mt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/San-Lawrenz-Preti.jpg\",\"width\":1260,\"height\":911},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/talba-bl-arti\/saint-lawrence-the-martyr-and-hercules-the-hero\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/talba-bl-arti\/saint-lawrence-the-martyr-and-hercules-the-hero\/\",\"name\":\"Saint Lawrence the Martyr and Hercules the Hero - Behold\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/behold.mt\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/talba-bl-arti\/saint-lawrence-the-martyr-and-hercules-the-hero\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-31T23:47:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-31T23:47:05+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/talba-bl-arti\/saint-lawrence-the-martyr-and-hercules-the-hero\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/talba-bl-arti\/saint-lawrence-the-martyr-and-hercules-the-hero\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/talba-bl-arti\/saint-lawrence-the-martyr-and-hercules-the-hero\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"item\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Home\"}},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"item\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/behold.mt\/talba-bl-arti\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/behold.mt\/talba-bl-arti\/\",\"name\":\"Talb permezz tal-Arti\"}},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"item\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/talba-bl-arti\/saint-lawrence-the-martyr-and-hercules-the-hero\/#webpage\"}}]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/talba-bl-arti\/16311"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/talba-bl-arti"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/talba-bl-arti"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/talba-bl-arti\/16311\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16313,"href":"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/talba-bl-arti\/16311\/revisions\/16313"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"rizors","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/behold.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rizors?post=16311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}