This saint is sometimes called "St. Paul the First Hermit." He was certainly among the earliest of the Desert Fathers. But he is famous chiefly for the visit made to his hermitage by St. Anthony Abbot, so we most often see him portrayed with Anthony (example).
During the visit, according to St. Jerome, a raven brought the two saints a loaf of bread. St. Paul explained to his guest that it usually brought just a half of a loaf, "but at your coming Christ has doubled his soldier's rations." Thus St. Paul's attribute is a half-loaf, with or without the raven, as at left.
A year later, St. Jerome says, Anthony returned to find St. Paul dead. He buried him with the help of two lions who pawed a hole in the ground for a grave. Thus some portraits show St. Paul standing between two lions (example), or in one case a pair of tigers.
The Golden Legend's story of St. Paul the Hermit retains both the lions and the raven with the bread.
Feast day: January 15
At left, Mattia Preti's St. Paul the Hermit - Cleveland Museum of Art
Hagiography:
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