The Torment of the Ten Thousand Christians

According to legend, the Roman Emperor Hadrian had recruited the pagan prince Achatius with all his nine thousand men. Angels promised them victory as a result of which they became Christians. The converted men withstood all torment so steadfastly, however, that one thousand of their adversaries joined their ranks, all of them ultimately perishing as martyrs. Dürer depicted himself in the centre of the painting as a detached observer accompanied by the recently deceased humanist Conrad Celtis.