Which saint is often depicted tied to a tree and shot with arrows?

Saint Sebastian is often depicted tied to a tree or post and pierced by arrows. According to his traditional biography, he was a Roman soldier who secretly supported Christians during the persecution of Emperor Diocletian. After his faith was discovered, archers were ordered to shoot him and leave him for dead.

The arrows did not kill Sebastian in the traditional account. Saint Irene of Rome is said to have found him, nursed him back to health, and helped him recover. Sebastian later confronted Diocletian again and was beaten to death, making the clubbing—not the arrow attack—the cause of his martyrdom in the standard legend.

Artists have favored the arrow scene since the Middle Ages because it gives Sebastian a recognizable attribute and creates a dramatic image of endurance. Early depictions were less consistent: a mosaic in Ravenna from roughly 527–565 shows him without arrows, while images with archers became common by about the year 1000.

Sebastian became associated with protection against plague, partly because medieval Christians linked his survival of the arrows with resistance to disease. He is also a patron of soldiers and is commemorated on 20 January in the Roman Catholic calendar.