Old statues, new meanings. Literary, epigraphic and archaeological evidence for Christian reidentification of statuary

Abstract

This article examines literary, epigraphic and archaeological evidence for the Christian reidentification of statuary and reliefs as biblical scenes and protagonists, saints and angels. It argues that Christian identifications were promulgated, amongst others by local bishops, to make sense of imagery of which the original identity had been lost and/or was no longer meaningful. Three conditions for a new identification are discussed: the absence of an epigraphic label, geographical and/or chronological distance separating the statue from its original context of display, and the presence of a specific attribute or characteristic that could become the prompt for reidentification. In their manipulation and modernization of older statuary, Christians showed a much greater appreciation of the statuary medium than generally assumed.

How Do We Explain the Quiet Demise of Graeco-Roman Religion? An Essay

“…It is obvious that traditional Greek and Roman religion still had a long life ahead of it after Constantine's victory at the Milvian Bridge (Kaegi 1966;Trombley 1985;Harl 1990; many studies in Ameling 2017). As Hartmut Leppin (2012) has persuasively argued, we should not see Christianization as a teleological, unidirectional process, but as a complex of developments, which took place in different rhythms in different places, with some areas embracing Christianity fairly late, such as the western Balkan (Bratož 1996), whereas in other areas that had been converted very early, such as Asia Minor, pagan statuary survived in fully Christianized cities well into the 6th century (Jacobs 2010(Jacobs , 2018(Jacobs , 2020in general, Smith and Ward-Perkins 2016). In the end, though, as per Leppin, this process gradually led to the hegemony of Christian discourses and practices instead of via a quick, violent transition.…”

La reutilización de antigüedades en al-Ándalus: ¿recurso o discurso?

“…Casos similares de reutilización, reubicación y resignificación de estatuas paganas en un contexto cristiano tardo antiguo sugieren que las piezas figuradas tuvieron también un valor discursivo (Kristensen, 2013, pp. 232-248;Jacobs, 2020). Partiendo pues desde este punto de vista, los sarcófagos y estatuas reutilizados en Madīnat al-Zahrā' fueron sin duda un recurso material y decorativo, pero muy probablemente fueron también piezas con un valor discursivo y un significado propio, es decir, eran el centro de relatos que aunaban diferentes tradiciones y memorias propias del mundo islámico y eran capaces de evocar una reflexión acerca del paso del tiempo, la sabiduría de los antiguos, la banalidad de las cosas temporales, lo eterno y lo perecedero, lo virtuoso o lo criticable, y las advertencias del pasado de cara al presente y al futuro.…”