St. Dionysius the
Aereopagite (Acts of the Apostles 17:34) was converted by St. Paul
and became the first bishop of Athens. Then he moved to Gaul, where he
became the first bishop of Paris. Arrested, he was subjected to many tortures
(thrown to wild animals, to furnace, whipped, etc.), but he did not betray
his faith. He then was beheaded on Montmartre ('Martyrs' Hill). The later
legend fused Dionysius with
St. Denis, who lived in France in the
3rd century. The monks of the Abbey of St. Denis near Paris encouraged
this amalgamation. Under the persecutions of the emperor Valerian St. Denis
was arrested, c. 250 AD. According to the further legend St. Denis
was beheaded together with his companions, the priest Rusticus and the
deacon Eleutherius. All three after the execution rose, took their heads
and walked all the way to the sepulchre. St. Denis continued to perform
numerous posthumous miracles in the neighborhood of his tomb.
St. Denis is the patron saint of France.
See: Domenico and David Ghirlandaio and Bartolomeo
di Giovanni. Madonna and
Child Enthroned with Two Angels, St.
Dionysius
the Aereopagite and St. Dominic, Pope Clement and St. Thomas Aquinas.
Recommended reading:
The
Great Collection of the Lives of the Saints, Vol. 2: October
by Demetrius, Thomas Marretta. Chrysostom Pr, 1995.
Dionysius
the Areopagite - The Divine Names and the Mystical Theology
by C. E. Rolt. Kessinger Publishing Company, 1997.
Pseudo
Dionysius: The Complete Works (Classics of Western Spirituality)
by Colm Luibheid (Translator), Paul Rorem (Photographer), Pseudo-Dionysiu.
Paulist Press, 1988.