Quote:
Originally Posted by Zaqarbal
Keep in mind that Christian iconography is often inspired by that from other religions, even if the subject in question has nothing to do with it.
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REALLY interesting subject if you look into it in any depth. A lot of my art history courses dealt with how early christian rulers took "pagan" iconography and transformed it into Christian subject matter to make the transition between religions go more smoothly. Early depictions of halos around the virgin mary and jesus were depicted as solid yellow discs, exactly the same as how many earlier Sun Deities were depicted.
Also, think of the common image of God in human form. Old man, long white beard...sound familiar? There's a reason why early Christian art (especially around Constantine's reign in the Roman Empire) actually visually portrayed God as a human form very similar to Zeus. Over time, once Christianity was established, portraying God as a human was phased out in art.