Theodore, Saint

His legends recount that Theodore (d. c.306) was a soldier in the Roman army (in the Black Sea area) who refused to worship pagan *idols, set fire to a pagan temple, was put on trial, tortured, and eventually martyred by being burned to *death in a furnace. One of the most popular Byzantine soldier-saints, he was also widely venerated in the west. By the tenth century, additions to his life story had become so complicated that two Saints Theodore were venerated: Theodore Tiro , the recruit (who is shown in art as a simple soldier), and Theodore Stratelates , the general (who is often more dramatically presented, riding on horseback, with a lance or spear). Sometimes the two Theodores are depicted together. Theodore often accompanies Saint *George on Byzantine *icons. He appears in mosaics, manuscripts, ivories, frescoes, and sculpture from the sixth century onward. Scenes from his life and *martyrdom can be found in stained glass at Chartres Cathedral and in the mosaics of San Marco, Venice (both places where his *relics were translated).