Papers by Lidia Chakovskaya
Heavens Explained in Letters: the Word as Image in the Jewish and Early Christian Tradition, 2023
Discussing the Early Christian iconography Nokodim Kondakov wrote that "the Eastern love of symbo... more Discussing the Early Christian iconography Nokodim Kondakov wrote that "the Eastern love of symbolic signs and formulas, along with the decorative direction of ancient and artistic mythology (…), gave new images a childishly joyful, and at the same time toy character" . By signs and formulas the researcher understood mainly catacomb images of fish, pigeon, anchor, etc.
However, long before the art of catacombs other signs have been formed in the Mediterranean, the main component of which are the letters of the alphabet or the whole words used as images. The article aims at presenting a variety of objects, where letters and inscriptions were used as the main artistic tool. Such monuments include, first of all, abecedaries (alphabets or combinations of letters placed on objects or scrawled as graffiti), which became particularly widespread in antiquity. Their appearance coincides with the birth of writing (we have proto-Canaan complete alphabets, as well as a Jewish one (a special group of abecedaria originating from Jerusalem) and Greek ones, dating back to the Iron Age. In the I-III с abecedaries became really widespread, particularly as part of the burial context . Thus, in the burial cave Horvath 'Eitun III-IVcc, we find a full Hebrew alphabet (from aleph to tav), written on the wall between two burial chambers. Similar objects mark the chambers in Beth-Shearim as well as ossuaries. As been noted by K. Stern, «such alphabets are consistently directed toward visitors in common spaces, around doorways and passageways, rather than placed in obscure corners of caves» . Letter monuments are both a way of decorating the space and a way of praying for the deceased.
The abecedaria also can be found in the Christian context. Thus, in Dura-Europos, where they appear in a variety of contexts, most of the inscriptions are in the Christian house of the assembly, converted by means of murals and inscriptions into the baptistery.
The appearance of the SATOR/AREPO inscription can be traced to the first century AC. We are talking about a table consisting of five columns of five squares in each. In each of the 25 squares there is a letter (25 letters all in all). The resulting five words (SATOR AREPO TENET OPERA ROTAS) can be read in four directions and on each resulting square line (thus, the word in the line forms a palindrom). Such plaques were found in Pompeii (next to the Amphitheater), in Herculaneum, Sirenchester and in Dura-Europos. The plate has long been considered a word game, but F.Grosser found that all the letters of the square except the N which stands in the middle, are repeated twice . It turned out that four words can be placed in the space as two words PATERNOSTER forming a cross with the letter N in the center, and Alpha and Omega (letters A and O) will be placed at the top and bottom . It turned out that four words can be placed in space as two words PATERNOSTER in the form of a cross with the letter N in the center, and Alpha and Omega (letters A and O) will be placed at the top and bottom. In this case, the square is a Christian cryptogram of magical content, a hidden Christian cross made up of letters. In Dura the plaque appears in a place where the soldiers lived, and M.I.Rostovtsev even suggested that it was a testament to the Christian presence in the Roman army . In the Middle Ages, the plaque was used as a form of decoration in the church .
For a long time, abecedaries were considered to be the exercises of scribes, but now they are seen primarily as to be conveying the magical meaning. Without ruling out such use, it should be noted that their main aim is to show a belief in the power and the strength of the word. This idea, originally coming from the ancient Middle East, especially spread in the Jewish environment of the Hellenistic and Roman period.
The moment when Hebrew alphabet had acquired a special status it became a visual testimony of Jewish identity . Hasmonean coins are particularly revealing in this respect. On the coins of Alexander Jannayas and most other Hasmoneans we find an inscription in paleo-Hebrew, talking about the unity of the High Priest and the gathering of the Jewish people, and placed on the obverse and surrounded by a laurel wreath. Presented in this way, the inscription occupies the place that on the coins of other nations is occupied by the profile of the ruler or deity. The sacred nature of the language, consecrated by antiquity, is for the first time used as a conscious artistic device , the appearance of letters and words on objects serve as a substitute for images. Hebrew language, “no longer commonly spoken, became a commodity, consciously manipulated by the leaders of the Jews to evoke the Jews' distinctness from their neighbours” .
In the first centuries of the common era the idea that God reveals itself in the word and that the language reflects the fundamental spiritual nature of the world became widespread in the Mediterranean . It was reflected in the variety of mystical texts and practices, such as the use of abecedaries in the burials of Beth Shearim for example: “the physical presence of the text would seem to be an important part of its usefulness: the graffito was a means by which a text could speak for itself long after the writer has gone” .
This belief affected the practice of people who work with the word, – Jewish and Christian scribes of the scripture. Nomina Sacra, the abbreviation of divine names, when selected letters under overline stand for the word, visually distinguish sacred names from the array of text. They also have a numerological significance, - to reveal the additional semantic connections with the biblical text.
The appeal to the power of letters in cases where it is impossible to express something by visual means can be found in the ancient Christian manuscripts. Thus one can find the appearance of the depiction of the cross in the form of nomina sacra, letter abbreviation. The letters Tau and Ro, combined together, become both a visual and literary designation of the word "stavros" - a cross and the oldest form of the visual reflection on the mystery of the cross. After the legalization of Christianity and as Christian fine art develops, letter monuments cease to play a significant role. However, in the Holy Land they continue to be actively used. An example of such use are letters and their combinations, decorating clay lamps, the meaning of which was recently deciphered by S. Loffredo .
Text continued to be a striking visual component of Jewish synagogue mosaics suсh as mosaics of Ein Gedi and Rehob.
The systematization and discovery of the meaning of the letters allows us to understand the context in which Christianity, which proclaimed that in the beginning was the Word, arose.
Herald of Omsk University. Series Historical studies, 2021
The article explores the pilgrim texts describing the abyss under the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem... more The article explores the pilgrim texts describing the abyss under the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The texts are analyzed by chronological order. Their imagery is treated in context of ancient texts about the water abyss under the Jerusalem Temple. Another source of imagery is the need to imagine the Creed in the architectural realities of the Holy Sepulchre.
The article explores in detail the artistic and iconographical side of the famous Beth-Alpha Syna... more The article explores in detail the artistic and iconographical side of the famous Beth-Alpha Synagogue.
Slavic & Jewish Cultures: Dialogue, Similarities, Differences, 2019
Скиния и Иерусалимский Храм: элементы театрализованной зрелищности в еврейском искусстве древности. // Опера в музыкальном театре: история и современность. Сборник статей по материалам Международной научной конференции 11-15 ноября 2019 года. Редактор-составитель И.П.Сусидко. Москва, 2019., 2019
The Tabernacle and the Temple in Jerusalem has played a crucial role in Biblical Judaism, while t... more The Tabernacle and the Temple in Jerusalem has played a crucial role in Biblical Judaism, while their description assumes a central position for the Biblical texts. Having been consciously differentiated from the very beginning from the other temples of ancient times, the Temple was subject to the prohibition of mimetic art. There is an inherent contradiction present within the artistic integral essence of the Temple: the prohibition coming from the First Commandment regarding the depiction of living creatures, the ‘void’ which distinguishes the Temple from the all other
ancient temples. The first means for obeying the commandment was the absence of architecture
asserted in the description of the Tabernacle: only pieces of cloth extended between the poles and conditional segmentation of the space between the Sacred areas and
the Holy of Holies. In the description there is also a lack of pictorial mimetic art. In order to fill up the resultant emptiness, the author of the Biblical text concentrates
on extensive description of the most significant objects – the cloths, the lamp, the Menorah, the reservoir for water. We witness here the emergence of the archaic form
of the theatre – the theatre of things, a special type of archaic theater called so by Nina Braginskaya (‘The Theater of Depictions.’ About the Neoclassical Spectacular
Forms in the Times of Antiquity). Objects help ritual, which becomes permeated with symbolism. Thus, the actions of Moses, and then of Aaron is the ascending path (onto
Mount Sinai and into the Holy of Holies) and the descent to the people, in order to show themselves as mediators in the dialogue between God and man. The clothes of the priests, described in detail, are endowed with their own sound (the peal of little bells). The theatrical aspect of the ritual, as well as music thereby acquire unusually great significance. It is particularly the ritual of the Temple in Jerusalem which became the foundation for future construction and development of churches in the culture of
Christianity.
Из истории художественной культуры Западной Европы V – XX веков. Коллективная монография. Отв.ред.-сост.М.И.Свидерская и Е.В.Шидловская. М.: БуксМарт, 2021. Сс.90-116., 2021
В статье рассматриваются паломнические тексты, говорящие о звучащих безднах под Храмом гроба Госп... more В статье рассматриваются паломнические тексты, говорящие о звучащих безднах под Храмом гроба Господня: шум, словно от бурной реки или от роя пчел – вот, что слышат многие под Голгофой. Логика этого образа частично понятна, если вспомнить раннехристическое представление, что под Голгофой находится могила Адама, а за Адамом Христос сошел в ад. Однако более полное объяснение этому образу следует из как бы походя указанном факте, что рядом с Голгофой находится жертвенник Авраама. Связь Храма Гроба Господня в Иерусалиме с утраченным Иерусалимским Храмом рассматривается в статье.
The Synagogue in Ancient Palestine: Current Issues and Emerging Trends. Eds.Rick Bonnie/ Raimo Hakola/ Ulla Tervahauta, 2021
The article explores in detail the artistic and iconographical side of the famous Beth-Alpha Syna... more The article explores in detail the artistic and iconographical side of the famous Beth-Alpha Synagogue.
Air and Heavens in the Hierotopy and Iconography of the Christian World. Materials of the International Symposium / Еd. by Alexei Lidov. Moscow, Theoria, 2019. — 168 р., 2019, 2019
The article focuses on Jerusalem landscape with its mountains and the way they were invested with... more The article focuses on Jerusalem landscape with its mountains and the way they were invested with the symbolic value in the course of history. Jerusalem mountains are both the geographical feature of the region and the metaphor. The history of Jerusalem naturally depends on the presence of heights and lowlands. In that respect Jerusalem is no different from any other city of antiquity. However, in the biblical consciousness the mountain are associated with the sacred history of the people, they are its witnesses and participants. Up untill present the mountains play an important role not only in the appearance of the city, but in its political development (the new mountains – Scopus and mount Herzl are good examples of that). The important feature of Jerusalem mountains is the synthesis of nature and architecture.
Thus, King David founded Jerusalem as a city where the majestic structures of Jebusee (the fortress of Zion) could now witness the greatness of the city and of the king. Architecture was seen as worthy of turning Zion into God,s dwelling place.
The status of the Temple Mount was determined by the construction of the Temple by Solomon. The name Zion was now applied to the Temple mount. During the Second Temple period the Temple mount was seen as a place of important biblical events. Thus the Chronicles had identified the Temple mount with the Mount Moriah, where the Sacrifice of Isaac took place. It was also seen as a place where the foundation stone of the creation can be seen within the Temple.
Architecture continued to play an important role. Thus, the legitimacy of the Hasmonean government was asserted through the destruction of an alien fortress Akra, which controlled the Temple Mount and the new sanctification of the Temple Mount. Finally, the gigantic platform made by King Herod during the reconstruction of the Temple so radically altered the phisical landscape of the city, that its platform was now seen as the focus of pilgrimage., where Jews flocked on holidays and residents of the empire came look at the rituals of the Jews. Despite the tragic events of the turn of the century and the destruction of the Temple, the Jerusalem Mountains in no way change their role in the semantic topography of the city.
Christians had inherited that concept of the mountain as the focus of the sacred history. Although the Gospels never refer to Golgotha as a mountain, by the time of Constantine it was identified with a mountain. Soon it was seen as a new Temple Mount, where the history of the chosen people found its completion.
The research was supported by the grant from Russian Foundation
for Humanities, project № 14-0... more The research was supported by the grant from Russian Foundation
for Humanities, project № 14-04-00367a.
This is an extremely abridged and simplified version of an article, which was published in Russian in 2015. It is devoted not only to the dialogue of two symbols. I try to demonstrate how the menorah which became a symbol with multiple meanings much earlier then the cross might have affected the way the cross was explained and depicted .
К вопросу о динамике взаимоотношений между образами храмового семисвечника (меноры) и креста в поздней античности // Образ и символ в иудейской, христианской и мусульманской традиции. — М.: «Индрик», 2015
The new aspects in the relationship between the images of the Menorah and the Cross in antiquity.... more The new aspects in the relationship between the images of the Menorah and the Cross in antiquity.
The article is devoted to the interrelation between the menorah and the cross in antiquity. During its long history the menorah acquired its manyfold meanings and was the first to become a symbol as we know it in Medieval art. Therefore I suggest that the menorah was the first to influence the depiction of the cross in Christian art.
The menorah or seven-branched lampstand is probably the most frequently used Jewish symbol of antiquity. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that it first appeared as a symbol on the coins of Antigonus and then as a graffity from Jerusalem much earlier than any other visual expression of Jewish identity. Much has been written on various symbolic meanings of the menorah.
In the study devoted to the significance of the menorah Lee I.Levine pointed out that its use was very much influenced by the widely spread application of the cross in the 4-5 c CE. I suggest that the reverse influence is possible as well, that is, that the earlier use of the menorah might have influenced the depiction of the cross as a Christian symbol.
The depiction of the Cross as the principle Christian symbol appears surprisingly late (not earlier than the end of the V c). The image of the menorah can be seen in the frescoes of the Dura-Europos synagogue and in the Roman catacombs quite early. Whereas the earliest representations of the cross first appeared in the form of different alphabetical letters, reminiscent of it, rather then the image of the cross itself. In Roman catacombs there are numerous depictions of menorahs and very few crosses. It is only in the 4 c, after the Constantine’s vision of the cross (in the form of letters), and his mothers excavation of the Cross in Jerusalem, that the concept of the cross was developed in its visual representation as an object. As part of it the image of a Cross acquired a new symbolic meaning as a notion essential for the building of a new state. It is interesting to notice that the image of the menorah had long before been associated with the Jewish state, because of its close association with the Temple and the Maccabees, who restored the Temple. It first appeared on the Antigonus coins primarily for political reason. In antiquity the menorah with its many-fold meanings and visual representation, was the first to become a symbol as we know it in medieval art. Therefore we may assume that the menorah influenced the depiction of the cross in Christian art.
In the paper I offer a step by step analysis of the development of the meaning and iconography of the menorah and of the cross.
This is a very short presentation of what later became a book.
Summary.
Erwin R. Goodenough is one of the most talented scholars of the XX century in the field ... more Summary.
Erwin R. Goodenough is one of the most talented scholars of the XX century in the field of Jewish Studies. And he is also an example of tragic solitude in the academic world. He himself thought that his main contribution lies in the field of religious studies, where he had suggested the existence of the mystic Judaism, radically different from rabbinic one and which for him had explained the existence of Jewish art. This concept was never accepted by his fellows scholars and he was severely critisised. His main life achievement lies not in religious studies, but in the Art History where he appears as the founder of the field. And not only the field of Jewish art studies but of Art history in general. It is exactly in 1950s, at the time when he had started his “Jewish symbols” that the field of Art history was gaining its positions, liberating itself from archaeology and searching for a new approach to the monuments of art.
Публикация бесед и биографического интервью с Евсеем Иосифовичем Ротенбергом - выдающимся историк... more Публикация бесед и биографического интервью с Евсеем Иосифовичем Ротенбергом - выдающимся историком искусства, о судьбах науки изучения искусства в Советсом Союзе.
Books by Lidia Chakovskaya
Монография посвящена еврейскому изобразительному искусству поздней античности. Впервые в отечеств... more Монография посвящена еврейскому изобразительному искусству поздней античности. Впервые в отечественной традиции рассматриваютя мозаики синагог Галилеи в их культурном контексте, реконструируется уникальная культурная ситуация региона, характеризующаяся литературной и религиозной активностью евреев, которая полнее всего проявилась в сложении мира синагоги с присущими ей архитектурными чертами. В синагоге впервые начинает использоваться изобразительное искусство. Автор предлагает рассматривать синагогальное искусство как следующее иконографическому канону, представляющему собой 3-частную мозаичную композицию, игравшую существенную роль в переосмыслении пространства синагоги в символическое пространство разрушенного Храма, с главной святыней - свитком Торы.
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Papers by Lidia Chakovskaya
However, long before the art of catacombs other signs have been formed in the Mediterranean, the main component of which are the letters of the alphabet or the whole words used as images. The article aims at presenting a variety of objects, where letters and inscriptions were used as the main artistic tool. Such monuments include, first of all, abecedaries (alphabets or combinations of letters placed on objects or scrawled as graffiti), which became particularly widespread in antiquity. Their appearance coincides with the birth of writing (we have proto-Canaan complete alphabets, as well as a Jewish one (a special group of abecedaria originating from Jerusalem) and Greek ones, dating back to the Iron Age. In the I-III с abecedaries became really widespread, particularly as part of the burial context . Thus, in the burial cave Horvath 'Eitun III-IVcc, we find a full Hebrew alphabet (from aleph to tav), written on the wall between two burial chambers. Similar objects mark the chambers in Beth-Shearim as well as ossuaries. As been noted by K. Stern, «such alphabets are consistently directed toward visitors in common spaces, around doorways and passageways, rather than placed in obscure corners of caves» . Letter monuments are both a way of decorating the space and a way of praying for the deceased.
The abecedaria also can be found in the Christian context. Thus, in Dura-Europos, where they appear in a variety of contexts, most of the inscriptions are in the Christian house of the assembly, converted by means of murals and inscriptions into the baptistery.
The appearance of the SATOR/AREPO inscription can be traced to the first century AC. We are talking about a table consisting of five columns of five squares in each. In each of the 25 squares there is a letter (25 letters all in all). The resulting five words (SATOR AREPO TENET OPERA ROTAS) can be read in four directions and on each resulting square line (thus, the word in the line forms a palindrom). Such plaques were found in Pompeii (next to the Amphitheater), in Herculaneum, Sirenchester and in Dura-Europos. The plate has long been considered a word game, but F.Grosser found that all the letters of the square except the N which stands in the middle, are repeated twice . It turned out that four words can be placed in the space as two words PATERNOSTER forming a cross with the letter N in the center, and Alpha and Omega (letters A and O) will be placed at the top and bottom . It turned out that four words can be placed in space as two words PATERNOSTER in the form of a cross with the letter N in the center, and Alpha and Omega (letters A and O) will be placed at the top and bottom. In this case, the square is a Christian cryptogram of magical content, a hidden Christian cross made up of letters. In Dura the plaque appears in a place where the soldiers lived, and M.I.Rostovtsev even suggested that it was a testament to the Christian presence in the Roman army . In the Middle Ages, the plaque was used as a form of decoration in the church .
For a long time, abecedaries were considered to be the exercises of scribes, but now they are seen primarily as to be conveying the magical meaning. Without ruling out such use, it should be noted that their main aim is to show a belief in the power and the strength of the word. This idea, originally coming from the ancient Middle East, especially spread in the Jewish environment of the Hellenistic and Roman period.
The moment when Hebrew alphabet had acquired a special status it became a visual testimony of Jewish identity . Hasmonean coins are particularly revealing in this respect. On the coins of Alexander Jannayas and most other Hasmoneans we find an inscription in paleo-Hebrew, talking about the unity of the High Priest and the gathering of the Jewish people, and placed on the obverse and surrounded by a laurel wreath. Presented in this way, the inscription occupies the place that on the coins of other nations is occupied by the profile of the ruler or deity. The sacred nature of the language, consecrated by antiquity, is for the first time used as a conscious artistic device , the appearance of letters and words on objects serve as a substitute for images. Hebrew language, “no longer commonly spoken, became a commodity, consciously manipulated by the leaders of the Jews to evoke the Jews' distinctness from their neighbours” .
In the first centuries of the common era the idea that God reveals itself in the word and that the language reflects the fundamental spiritual nature of the world became widespread in the Mediterranean . It was reflected in the variety of mystical texts and practices, such as the use of abecedaries in the burials of Beth Shearim for example: “the physical presence of the text would seem to be an important part of its usefulness: the graffito was a means by which a text could speak for itself long after the writer has gone” .
This belief affected the practice of people who work with the word, – Jewish and Christian scribes of the scripture. Nomina Sacra, the abbreviation of divine names, when selected letters under overline stand for the word, visually distinguish sacred names from the array of text. They also have a numerological significance, - to reveal the additional semantic connections with the biblical text.
The appeal to the power of letters in cases where it is impossible to express something by visual means can be found in the ancient Christian manuscripts. Thus one can find the appearance of the depiction of the cross in the form of nomina sacra, letter abbreviation. The letters Tau and Ro, combined together, become both a visual and literary designation of the word "stavros" - a cross and the oldest form of the visual reflection on the mystery of the cross. After the legalization of Christianity and as Christian fine art develops, letter monuments cease to play a significant role. However, in the Holy Land they continue to be actively used. An example of such use are letters and their combinations, decorating clay lamps, the meaning of which was recently deciphered by S. Loffredo .
Text continued to be a striking visual component of Jewish synagogue mosaics suсh as mosaics of Ein Gedi and Rehob.
The systematization and discovery of the meaning of the letters allows us to understand the context in which Christianity, which proclaimed that in the beginning was the Word, arose.
ancient temples. The first means for obeying the commandment was the absence of architecture
asserted in the description of the Tabernacle: only pieces of cloth extended between the poles and conditional segmentation of the space between the Sacred areas and
the Holy of Holies. In the description there is also a lack of pictorial mimetic art. In order to fill up the resultant emptiness, the author of the Biblical text concentrates
on extensive description of the most significant objects – the cloths, the lamp, the Menorah, the reservoir for water. We witness here the emergence of the archaic form
of the theatre – the theatre of things, a special type of archaic theater called so by Nina Braginskaya (‘The Theater of Depictions.’ About the Neoclassical Spectacular
Forms in the Times of Antiquity). Objects help ritual, which becomes permeated with symbolism. Thus, the actions of Moses, and then of Aaron is the ascending path (onto
Mount Sinai and into the Holy of Holies) and the descent to the people, in order to show themselves as mediators in the dialogue between God and man. The clothes of the priests, described in detail, are endowed with their own sound (the peal of little bells). The theatrical aspect of the ritual, as well as music thereby acquire unusually great significance. It is particularly the ritual of the Temple in Jerusalem which became the foundation for future construction and development of churches in the culture of
Christianity.
Thus, King David founded Jerusalem as a city where the majestic structures of Jebusee (the fortress of Zion) could now witness the greatness of the city and of the king. Architecture was seen as worthy of turning Zion into God,s dwelling place.
The status of the Temple Mount was determined by the construction of the Temple by Solomon. The name Zion was now applied to the Temple mount. During the Second Temple period the Temple mount was seen as a place of important biblical events. Thus the Chronicles had identified the Temple mount with the Mount Moriah, where the Sacrifice of Isaac took place. It was also seen as a place where the foundation stone of the creation can be seen within the Temple.
Architecture continued to play an important role. Thus, the legitimacy of the Hasmonean government was asserted through the destruction of an alien fortress Akra, which controlled the Temple Mount and the new sanctification of the Temple Mount. Finally, the gigantic platform made by King Herod during the reconstruction of the Temple so radically altered the phisical landscape of the city, that its platform was now seen as the focus of pilgrimage., where Jews flocked on holidays and residents of the empire came look at the rituals of the Jews. Despite the tragic events of the turn of the century and the destruction of the Temple, the Jerusalem Mountains in no way change their role in the semantic topography of the city.
Christians had inherited that concept of the mountain as the focus of the sacred history. Although the Gospels never refer to Golgotha as a mountain, by the time of Constantine it was identified with a mountain. Soon it was seen as a new Temple Mount, where the history of the chosen people found its completion.
for Humanities, project № 14-04-00367a.
This is an extremely abridged and simplified version of an article, which was published in Russian in 2015. It is devoted not only to the dialogue of two symbols. I try to demonstrate how the menorah which became a symbol with multiple meanings much earlier then the cross might have affected the way the cross was explained and depicted .
The article is devoted to the interrelation between the menorah and the cross in antiquity. During its long history the menorah acquired its manyfold meanings and was the first to become a symbol as we know it in Medieval art. Therefore I suggest that the menorah was the first to influence the depiction of the cross in Christian art.
The menorah or seven-branched lampstand is probably the most frequently used Jewish symbol of antiquity. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that it first appeared as a symbol on the coins of Antigonus and then as a graffity from Jerusalem much earlier than any other visual expression of Jewish identity. Much has been written on various symbolic meanings of the menorah.
In the study devoted to the significance of the menorah Lee I.Levine pointed out that its use was very much influenced by the widely spread application of the cross in the 4-5 c CE. I suggest that the reverse influence is possible as well, that is, that the earlier use of the menorah might have influenced the depiction of the cross as a Christian symbol.
The depiction of the Cross as the principle Christian symbol appears surprisingly late (not earlier than the end of the V c). The image of the menorah can be seen in the frescoes of the Dura-Europos synagogue and in the Roman catacombs quite early. Whereas the earliest representations of the cross first appeared in the form of different alphabetical letters, reminiscent of it, rather then the image of the cross itself. In Roman catacombs there are numerous depictions of menorahs and very few crosses. It is only in the 4 c, after the Constantine’s vision of the cross (in the form of letters), and his mothers excavation of the Cross in Jerusalem, that the concept of the cross was developed in its visual representation as an object. As part of it the image of a Cross acquired a new symbolic meaning as a notion essential for the building of a new state. It is interesting to notice that the image of the menorah had long before been associated with the Jewish state, because of its close association with the Temple and the Maccabees, who restored the Temple. It first appeared on the Antigonus coins primarily for political reason. In antiquity the menorah with its many-fold meanings and visual representation, was the first to become a symbol as we know it in medieval art. Therefore we may assume that the menorah influenced the depiction of the cross in Christian art.
In the paper I offer a step by step analysis of the development of the meaning and iconography of the menorah and of the cross.
Erwin R. Goodenough is one of the most talented scholars of the XX century in the field of Jewish Studies. And he is also an example of tragic solitude in the academic world. He himself thought that his main contribution lies in the field of religious studies, where he had suggested the existence of the mystic Judaism, radically different from rabbinic one and which for him had explained the existence of Jewish art. This concept was never accepted by his fellows scholars and he was severely critisised. His main life achievement lies not in religious studies, but in the Art History where he appears as the founder of the field. And not only the field of Jewish art studies but of Art history in general. It is exactly in 1950s, at the time when he had started his “Jewish symbols” that the field of Art history was gaining its positions, liberating itself from archaeology and searching for a new approach to the monuments of art.
Books by Lidia Chakovskaya
However, long before the art of catacombs other signs have been formed in the Mediterranean, the main component of which are the letters of the alphabet or the whole words used as images. The article aims at presenting a variety of objects, where letters and inscriptions were used as the main artistic tool. Such monuments include, first of all, abecedaries (alphabets or combinations of letters placed on objects or scrawled as graffiti), which became particularly widespread in antiquity. Their appearance coincides with the birth of writing (we have proto-Canaan complete alphabets, as well as a Jewish one (a special group of abecedaria originating from Jerusalem) and Greek ones, dating back to the Iron Age. In the I-III с abecedaries became really widespread, particularly as part of the burial context . Thus, in the burial cave Horvath 'Eitun III-IVcc, we find a full Hebrew alphabet (from aleph to tav), written on the wall between two burial chambers. Similar objects mark the chambers in Beth-Shearim as well as ossuaries. As been noted by K. Stern, «such alphabets are consistently directed toward visitors in common spaces, around doorways and passageways, rather than placed in obscure corners of caves» . Letter monuments are both a way of decorating the space and a way of praying for the deceased.
The abecedaria also can be found in the Christian context. Thus, in Dura-Europos, where they appear in a variety of contexts, most of the inscriptions are in the Christian house of the assembly, converted by means of murals and inscriptions into the baptistery.
The appearance of the SATOR/AREPO inscription can be traced to the first century AC. We are talking about a table consisting of five columns of five squares in each. In each of the 25 squares there is a letter (25 letters all in all). The resulting five words (SATOR AREPO TENET OPERA ROTAS) can be read in four directions and on each resulting square line (thus, the word in the line forms a palindrom). Such plaques were found in Pompeii (next to the Amphitheater), in Herculaneum, Sirenchester and in Dura-Europos. The plate has long been considered a word game, but F.Grosser found that all the letters of the square except the N which stands in the middle, are repeated twice . It turned out that four words can be placed in the space as two words PATERNOSTER forming a cross with the letter N in the center, and Alpha and Omega (letters A and O) will be placed at the top and bottom . It turned out that four words can be placed in space as two words PATERNOSTER in the form of a cross with the letter N in the center, and Alpha and Omega (letters A and O) will be placed at the top and bottom. In this case, the square is a Christian cryptogram of magical content, a hidden Christian cross made up of letters. In Dura the plaque appears in a place where the soldiers lived, and M.I.Rostovtsev even suggested that it was a testament to the Christian presence in the Roman army . In the Middle Ages, the plaque was used as a form of decoration in the church .
For a long time, abecedaries were considered to be the exercises of scribes, but now they are seen primarily as to be conveying the magical meaning. Without ruling out such use, it should be noted that their main aim is to show a belief in the power and the strength of the word. This idea, originally coming from the ancient Middle East, especially spread in the Jewish environment of the Hellenistic and Roman period.
The moment when Hebrew alphabet had acquired a special status it became a visual testimony of Jewish identity . Hasmonean coins are particularly revealing in this respect. On the coins of Alexander Jannayas and most other Hasmoneans we find an inscription in paleo-Hebrew, talking about the unity of the High Priest and the gathering of the Jewish people, and placed on the obverse and surrounded by a laurel wreath. Presented in this way, the inscription occupies the place that on the coins of other nations is occupied by the profile of the ruler or deity. The sacred nature of the language, consecrated by antiquity, is for the first time used as a conscious artistic device , the appearance of letters and words on objects serve as a substitute for images. Hebrew language, “no longer commonly spoken, became a commodity, consciously manipulated by the leaders of the Jews to evoke the Jews' distinctness from their neighbours” .
In the first centuries of the common era the idea that God reveals itself in the word and that the language reflects the fundamental spiritual nature of the world became widespread in the Mediterranean . It was reflected in the variety of mystical texts and practices, such as the use of abecedaries in the burials of Beth Shearim for example: “the physical presence of the text would seem to be an important part of its usefulness: the graffito was a means by which a text could speak for itself long after the writer has gone” .
This belief affected the practice of people who work with the word, – Jewish and Christian scribes of the scripture. Nomina Sacra, the abbreviation of divine names, when selected letters under overline stand for the word, visually distinguish sacred names from the array of text. They also have a numerological significance, - to reveal the additional semantic connections with the biblical text.
The appeal to the power of letters in cases where it is impossible to express something by visual means can be found in the ancient Christian manuscripts. Thus one can find the appearance of the depiction of the cross in the form of nomina sacra, letter abbreviation. The letters Tau and Ro, combined together, become both a visual and literary designation of the word "stavros" - a cross and the oldest form of the visual reflection on the mystery of the cross. After the legalization of Christianity and as Christian fine art develops, letter monuments cease to play a significant role. However, in the Holy Land they continue to be actively used. An example of such use are letters and their combinations, decorating clay lamps, the meaning of which was recently deciphered by S. Loffredo .
Text continued to be a striking visual component of Jewish synagogue mosaics suсh as mosaics of Ein Gedi and Rehob.
The systematization and discovery of the meaning of the letters allows us to understand the context in which Christianity, which proclaimed that in the beginning was the Word, arose.
ancient temples. The first means for obeying the commandment was the absence of architecture
asserted in the description of the Tabernacle: only pieces of cloth extended between the poles and conditional segmentation of the space between the Sacred areas and
the Holy of Holies. In the description there is also a lack of pictorial mimetic art. In order to fill up the resultant emptiness, the author of the Biblical text concentrates
on extensive description of the most significant objects – the cloths, the lamp, the Menorah, the reservoir for water. We witness here the emergence of the archaic form
of the theatre – the theatre of things, a special type of archaic theater called so by Nina Braginskaya (‘The Theater of Depictions.’ About the Neoclassical Spectacular
Forms in the Times of Antiquity). Objects help ritual, which becomes permeated with symbolism. Thus, the actions of Moses, and then of Aaron is the ascending path (onto
Mount Sinai and into the Holy of Holies) and the descent to the people, in order to show themselves as mediators in the dialogue between God and man. The clothes of the priests, described in detail, are endowed with their own sound (the peal of little bells). The theatrical aspect of the ritual, as well as music thereby acquire unusually great significance. It is particularly the ritual of the Temple in Jerusalem which became the foundation for future construction and development of churches in the culture of
Christianity.
Thus, King David founded Jerusalem as a city where the majestic structures of Jebusee (the fortress of Zion) could now witness the greatness of the city and of the king. Architecture was seen as worthy of turning Zion into God,s dwelling place.
The status of the Temple Mount was determined by the construction of the Temple by Solomon. The name Zion was now applied to the Temple mount. During the Second Temple period the Temple mount was seen as a place of important biblical events. Thus the Chronicles had identified the Temple mount with the Mount Moriah, where the Sacrifice of Isaac took place. It was also seen as a place where the foundation stone of the creation can be seen within the Temple.
Architecture continued to play an important role. Thus, the legitimacy of the Hasmonean government was asserted through the destruction of an alien fortress Akra, which controlled the Temple Mount and the new sanctification of the Temple Mount. Finally, the gigantic platform made by King Herod during the reconstruction of the Temple so radically altered the phisical landscape of the city, that its platform was now seen as the focus of pilgrimage., where Jews flocked on holidays and residents of the empire came look at the rituals of the Jews. Despite the tragic events of the turn of the century and the destruction of the Temple, the Jerusalem Mountains in no way change their role in the semantic topography of the city.
Christians had inherited that concept of the mountain as the focus of the sacred history. Although the Gospels never refer to Golgotha as a mountain, by the time of Constantine it was identified with a mountain. Soon it was seen as a new Temple Mount, where the history of the chosen people found its completion.
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This is an extremely abridged and simplified version of an article, which was published in Russian in 2015. It is devoted not only to the dialogue of two symbols. I try to demonstrate how the menorah which became a symbol with multiple meanings much earlier then the cross might have affected the way the cross was explained and depicted .
The article is devoted to the interrelation between the menorah and the cross in antiquity. During its long history the menorah acquired its manyfold meanings and was the first to become a symbol as we know it in Medieval art. Therefore I suggest that the menorah was the first to influence the depiction of the cross in Christian art.
The menorah or seven-branched lampstand is probably the most frequently used Jewish symbol of antiquity. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that it first appeared as a symbol on the coins of Antigonus and then as a graffity from Jerusalem much earlier than any other visual expression of Jewish identity. Much has been written on various symbolic meanings of the menorah.
In the study devoted to the significance of the menorah Lee I.Levine pointed out that its use was very much influenced by the widely spread application of the cross in the 4-5 c CE. I suggest that the reverse influence is possible as well, that is, that the earlier use of the menorah might have influenced the depiction of the cross as a Christian symbol.
The depiction of the Cross as the principle Christian symbol appears surprisingly late (not earlier than the end of the V c). The image of the menorah can be seen in the frescoes of the Dura-Europos synagogue and in the Roman catacombs quite early. Whereas the earliest representations of the cross first appeared in the form of different alphabetical letters, reminiscent of it, rather then the image of the cross itself. In Roman catacombs there are numerous depictions of menorahs and very few crosses. It is only in the 4 c, after the Constantine’s vision of the cross (in the form of letters), and his mothers excavation of the Cross in Jerusalem, that the concept of the cross was developed in its visual representation as an object. As part of it the image of a Cross acquired a new symbolic meaning as a notion essential for the building of a new state. It is interesting to notice that the image of the menorah had long before been associated with the Jewish state, because of its close association with the Temple and the Maccabees, who restored the Temple. It first appeared on the Antigonus coins primarily for political reason. In antiquity the menorah with its many-fold meanings and visual representation, was the first to become a symbol as we know it in medieval art. Therefore we may assume that the menorah influenced the depiction of the cross in Christian art.
In the paper I offer a step by step analysis of the development of the meaning and iconography of the menorah and of the cross.
Erwin R. Goodenough is one of the most talented scholars of the XX century in the field of Jewish Studies. And he is also an example of tragic solitude in the academic world. He himself thought that his main contribution lies in the field of religious studies, where he had suggested the existence of the mystic Judaism, radically different from rabbinic one and which for him had explained the existence of Jewish art. This concept was never accepted by his fellows scholars and he was severely critisised. His main life achievement lies not in religious studies, but in the Art History where he appears as the founder of the field. And not only the field of Jewish art studies but of Art history in general. It is exactly in 1950s, at the time when he had started his “Jewish symbols” that the field of Art history was gaining its positions, liberating itself from archaeology and searching for a new approach to the monuments of art.