1. Jewish and Christian Syncretism
Art of Late Antiquity with Classical Influences

2. DISCLAIMER
This presentation is an overview of the material in your text. It is not
comprehensive, nor is it meant to be. This presentation allows you to introduce
yourself to concepts and images in the respective chapter. Best practice says
to view this presentation with your book open, as many of the images in this
presentation are small or incomplete.

3. Guiding Question
• How does syncretism work to
ease the conflict between two
culture—specifically, paganism
and Christianity?
• As Christianity becomes more
and more endorsed by the
government, how does
Christian imagery change in
doctrinal shifts?
GREEK Athenian Calf-bearer, Athens
Greece and CHRISTIAN Christ as Good
Shepherd in Roman Catacombs, Rome,
Italy

4. Guiding Historical
Events
• In 313 CE, the Edict of Milan is
issued by Constantine granting
religious freedom to pagans,
Jews, and Christians
• Constantine moves his Capitol
from Rome to Constantinople
(modern Istanbul, Turkey)
• In 380, Christianity is
proclaimed the official religion
of the Roman Empire, and in
391, pagan worship is banned
GREEK Seated Philosopher Anaximander
and CHRISTIAN Christ as Seated
Philosopher

5. Constantine moves his capitol
from Rome to Constantinople,
modern Istanbul, Turkey. Out of
this new capitol will grow the
Byzantine world covered in the
next presentation.
Christianity is a religion of the East,
with the earliest artistic
developments coming out of Syria
and rising in Rome. Remember,
when we talk about early
Christians, we mean those
Christians of the 3rd and 4th
centuries CE, NOT those who knew
Christ.
Constantine moves his capitol
from Rome to Constantinople,
modern Istanbul, Turkey. Out of
this new capitol will grow the
Byzantine world covered in the
next presentation.
Where in the world are we?

6. Monotheistic Changes
• While Roman religious practice is civic
and obligatory, Monotheistic faiths,
Judaism and Christianity, practice their
faith in intimate communities.
• Monotheistic doctrines and narratives
are understood only by the initiated
(associations are meaningful only to
those in-the-know).
• In the example to the right, we see the
story of a young King David being
anointed by Samuel. The figures are
flat, lacking expression, and their Samuel Anointing David, House-Synagogue,
Dura-Europos, Syria
draperies are told through lines rather
than modeling. The STORY is more
important to the community than the
STYLE it is represented with.

7. Christian Changes
• Early Christians believe that there is only one God--the Creator-- and Christ is the Messiah.
Belief in the Messiah earns one the right to an eternal life in Heaven. Debates about the
nature of Christ, whether he is man, God, or a combination of both, are part of Early
Christian periods.
• Early Christian worship centers around the sacrament of the Eucharist (bread and
wine) and transubstantiation (the miraculous changing of substances into the
physical and actual body and blood of Christ).
• Christian sacred writings include the New Testament (four gospels, letters to converts, and
a book of Revelation), the Old Testament (the Hebraic Torah, which Constantine demands
be included), and many other gospels and texts that will later be considered heretical (such
as the Gnostic Gospels).
• Christian doctrines are determined in a series of Councils, beginning with the Council of
Nicaea, convened by Constantine in 325. These doctrines will change greatly over the next
thousand years, leaving the Christianity of today looking quite different than it did in its
inception.

8. Religious
Syncretism
The fusion of diverse
religious beliefs and
practices. -- Britannica Online
Encyclopedia
• As pagans convert to Christianity,
they carry with them a cultural
memory of the pagan world
• To ease the process of conversion,
familiar pagan images are given
new, Christian meanings which
make the new doctrines easier to
adopt
• Manifests itself in iconography that
can be read from both a pagan and
Christian perspective
GREEK Venus Pudica; ROMAN Equestrian Statue of
Marcus Aurelius, Rome, Italy; CHRISTIAN Adam and
Eve and Christ entering Jerusalem on an ass, detail
from Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, Rome, Italy

9. Examples of Syncretic Work
The plan of Santa Costanza in
Rome, Italy (above) is
reminiscent of the Greek and
Roman tholos. The mosaics
there (below) combine images of
Christ and Bacchus, the Roman
god of wine, and Christ as Sol
Invictus, the Roman god of the
Sun.
Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, Rome,
Italy
Self Study:
What do you recognize that is pagan (architectural and
sculptural forms, drapery styles, physical expressions
and stances)? Iconography can be read from both a
pagan and Christian perspective; pagan forms are
given a new, Christian meaning.

10. Christian Architecture
Santa Sabina, Rome,
Italy
Self Study:
In your text, look at the plan of Saint Peter's (image to
the right), established on what Constantine believed to
be the burial spot of Peter, disciple to Christ and the
first Pope of the Church. How is it similar in layout to
the Roman courthouse? How is it similar to Roman
residences? Why might those similarities serve the
purpose of a new Christianity?

11. Christian Architecture, Cont.
Christians worship differently
than Roman pagans, so early
Christians have different
architectural needs. Churches
need to hold thousands of
congregants. Christians
worship communally and, early
on, without a hierarchy, so
there is only one entrance.
Christians want to distinguish
themselves from their pagan
Santa Sabina, Rome, counterparts, so churches are
austere on the exterior and
Italy
ornamented for the initiated on
Self Study: the interior. This does not
mean that Christian church
In your text, look at the interiors of Early Christian builders won't appropriate
churches. How are mosaics used differently spolia, i.e. the columns at
Santa Sabina are from pagan
than in Roman residences? temples.

12. Christian Mosaics
As Christianity is more and
more legitimized by the State,
images of Christ change.
Here, he is no longer the
intimate, protecting Christ but
the enthroned Christ of
cosmological and political
power.
Christ as Good Shepard,
Mausoleum of Galla Placidia,
Ravenna, Italy
Christian mosaics are no
longer decorative floor items
(as for the Romans), but rather
instructional and devotional
narratives teaching Christian
doctrines and stories. Mosaics
Christ in Majesty, Saint Apollinaire Nuovo, Ravenna, Italy
Christ in Majesty, Saint Apollinaire Nuovo, Ravenna, Italy are especially useful as they
can seem to glow in the
Self Study: candlelight of the Church,
Look at the various images of Christ in your text. How have images of adding to an already
Christ changed in several hundred years of Early Christianity? What new kinesthetic worship.
colors, symbols, attributes is he given as Christianity has become the State
religion? Why do you think that is?

13. In subsequent presentations, you will
explore:
• Byzantine Art Overview
• Frontline’s From Jesus to Christ online gallery
• The Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey and San Vitale
in Ravenna, Italy