![]() In a Christian funerary context, the image of Christ as Helios is commonly interpreted as being representative of the resurrection. Sepphoris was not unique Helios and the zodiac appear in at least seven synagogues from about 400 to 500 C.E. In the mosaic, Helios is surrounded by the 12 signs of the zodiac. This depiction of Helios appears, surprisingly, as part of an elaborate mosaic floor uncovered in an ancient synagogue at Sepphoris. Interested in learning about the birth of Jesus? Learn more about the history of Christmas and the date of Jesus’ birth in the free eBook The First Christmas: The Story of Jesus’ Birth in History and Tradition. ![]() This is not to say that Christians necessarily confused the two, but rather that they chose an image of a pre-established deity with noble associations to portray their own idea of the sacred. Thus the early images of Christ portray a young, beardless man who bears a strong resemblance to the god Apollo of the Greco-Roman world. This is not so strange as emerging underdogs in a nation with a long and well-established artistic tradition, those same artisans and craftsman who were now creating art in a Christian context naturally turned to images and styles that were familiar to them. Likewise, the scenes of jovial dinners (symposia) that were often depicted in Greek funerary contexts (and later in Roman ones, with a slightly less exuberant tone) became models for the Christian funerary images of the rewards of heaven. Thus the pagan image of Endymion sleeping under the watchful eye of the goddess Selene became the prototype of Jonah asleep beneath the vine (Jonah 4). Photo: Scala/Art Resource, NY.Īnd yet, although the dogma and belief systems were in many ways markedly different from pagan religion, many of the images early Christians generated were quite similar to those that adorned the walls and floors of buildings belonging to their pagan neighbors. Third-century scene of a feast decorating a Christian tomb in the Catacomb of St. With the issuance of Emperor Constantine’s Edict of Milan, which effectively legalized Christianity, Christian art became much more overt and widespread. Not surprisingly, early Christians were discreet in their worship, and their art was executed quite literally underground. This nascent and largely populist religion was viewed with varying degrees of hostility by the Roman authorities in the first few centuries after Jesus’ death, ranging from disdainful tolerance to outright persecution. The earliest known Christian art can be found in the catacombs of Rome. ![]() The sculptors, fresco painters and mosaic artists who created Christian images did so by using the prolific examples of art and decoration that shaped their artistic landscape. This often led to the assimilation of well-established pagan artistic styles and images into early Christian art. Living in the Greco-Roman world, early Christians were able to draw from a set of rich artistic paradigms when they set out to depict their stories and beliefs in decorative contexts. Location: Rheinisches Landesmuseum, Trier, Germany.
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