The Lord called Ananias and promised to send his disciple in order to heal Abgar from the leprosy and instruct him in salvation. He attempted to produce an image of the Lord Jesus Christ from afar, but could not. Ananias was not able to go near Christ because of the great many people listening to his preaching. Abgar sent his court painter, Ananias, with this letter to Palestine telling him to paint an image of the Divine Teacher. Although not having seen the Lord, Abgar believed in him and wrote a letter requesting Christ to come and heal him.
Reports of the great miracles performed by the Lord extended throughout Syria (Matt. Icon made by Jesusĭuring the time of the earthly ministry of the Savior, Abgar, ruler in the Syrian city of Edessa, was afflicted with leprosy. Orthodox Tradition tells us, for example, of the existence of an icon of the Christ during his lifetime, the Icon-Not-Made-With-Hands, and of the icons of the Theotokos immediately after him written by the All-laudable Apostle and Evangelist Luke. The use of iconography is considered one of the most distinctive elements of the Byzantine Rite.įrom the first centuries of Christianity, icons have been used for prayer.
The Sunday of Orthodoxy, the first Sunday of the Great Fast (Lent) every year celebrates the reestablishment of the Orthodox veneration of icons. Images have always been a vital part of the Church, but their place was the subject of the Iconoclast Controversy in the 8th and 9th centuries, especially in the East. A person who practices the art of iconography is called an iconographer. Icons are usually two-dimensional images and may be made of paint, mosaic, embroidery, weaving, carving, engraving, or other methods. As both an archaeologist and avid spear-thrower myself, I offer some useful insights into this problem and discuss how this famous bronze statue from Cape Artemision more likely once held a trident than a thunderbolt and therefore is to be identified as Poseidon rather than a Zeus.Iconography (from Greek: εικονογραφία) refers to the making and liturgical use of icons, pictorial representations of Biblical scenes from the life of Jesus Christ, historical events in the life of the Church, and portraits of the saints. Classical archaeologists and art historians, who generally have no experience in throwing spears, have not considered the problem from such a practical point of view. A new look at the pose of the figure, the back-drawn right arm, and especially the position of the hand and fingers from the point of view of a spear-thrower can perhaps throw new light on this contentious old problem. Arguments have been advanced for either divinity largely on the basis of iconographical comparisons with other figures of both gods in various ancient artistic media. Features of style date the panels to the 4th century AD.īecause of the missing thunderbolt or trident, scholars have long debated whether the famous early classical bronze statue of a nude male god from Cape Artemision in the Athens National Museum represents Zeus or Poseidon. Three main groups of scenes can be distinguished: (1) the foundation of Pella-on-the-Orontes by the legendary Archippos, (2) the (re)foundation of the city as Apamea-on-the-Orontes (earlier Pella-on-the-Orontes) by Seleucus I Nikator and the simultaneous financial generosity of his wife, Apama, for the development of the new Seleucid colony in 300 BC, and (3) the raising of the town fortifications around monumental public buildings and an illustration of the daily life of a joyous people living in the rich Apamean agglomeration and hinterland. The scenes tell the story of the founding of Pella/Apamea and further development of this city on the Orontes river. Ancient monuments and art have either been destroyed, damaged, or lost as chaos persists in a region that has for thousands of years seen the footprint of a parade of civilizations. Beyond the devastation and tragedy of human lives precipitated by the conflict in Syria, priceless representations of ancient culture and history have likewise fallen victim to a seemingly never-ending maelstrom of destruction.