Somewhat surprisingly, the word 'martyr' (from Greek) originally just meant somebody who had witnessed something and was mindful about it. The thoughtfulness was sincere, but nothing remarkable enough to result in persecution. Christians and adherents of other religions, Communists and members of other ideologies, have adopted the word for those special people who displayed unusually strong faith in the face of adversity, to the point they would rather suffer a painful death than renounce their beliefs.

Somewhat unsurprisingly, there have been relatively few takers for this honour.

Consequently in religion at least, martyrdom has become almost synonymous to sainthood for fellow believers, or at least worthy of sincere reverence. Monuments are erected in the martyr's honour, often in the form of a cross, even though relatively few martyrs have been crucified. Others have been stoned to death, beheaded, speared, beaten, hanged, drowned, burnt at a stake and more recently, executed by firing squad and other 'humane' methods.

Erecting crosses and other monuments in public places has been vogue for the past few hundred years, especially in Europe, and many are dedicated to martyrs. Although the cross is a Christian symbol, the martyrdom has usually been more 'political' than 'religious'.

This object is part of "Scan The World". Scan the World is a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory, through which we are creating a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks and landmarks from across the globe for the public to access for free. Scan the World is an open source, community effort, if you have interesting items around you and would like to contribute, email stw@myminifactory.com to find out how you can help.