Nimbus in Imperial and Christian Imagery

From Stone Age to Stellenbosch: Studies on the Ancient Near East in Honor of Izak (Sakkie) Cornelius, 2021

How do texts and artifacts open a window into the complexity of religious experience in the ancient near East? Written in honor of Prof. Dr. Izak “Sakkie” Cornelius, this article employs textual and visual evidence to explore a set of cylinder and stamp seals dated primarily to the eighth and seventh centuries BCE that show a goddess surrounded by a ring with globe- or star-tipped triangles or poles emanating from it. Frequently associated with the Akkadian term melammu, or divine brilliance, we show that the nimbus is both more substantial and less widely distributed. Featured mainly in Mesopotamian iconography but also farther west—from Til Barsip, Syria to Tel Miqne in Israel (biblical Ekron)—the “goddess in a nimbus” combines elements associated with various gods and goddesses, leading to a range of previous scholarly explanations. The article offers a detailed survey of each element of the nimbus and the deities, divine symbols, celestial phenomena, weaponry, clothing, and companion animals associated with it. We show that the “nimbus” probably represented both the sun and the brightest planet, Venus, and that, rather than a single goddess, the “goddess in a nimbus” might show a number of figures, including Ištar and a range of goddesses naturally associated with or syncretized with her. Finally, we examine the mysterious phenomenon of light that appears to undergird the nimbus idea, comparing it to the light with which the figure of Moses is associated in biblical and post-biblical literature.

2020

The main function of religious art is to embody the abstract idea of God in a form that allows its easiest perception. A central problem of any religious system is God’s presence and its adequate description. Theophanic events are never single-layered and this is a challenge for both the spiritual writer and the spiritual artist. One of the most enduring trends in religious beliefs in all ages and cultures is the designation of the diversity of manifestations of the divine power, presence and action with unifying notions. Probably the most sustainable and universal in this respect is the concept of the “glory” of gods, through which their divinity is expressed most emphatically, most sensually, and at the same time most unattainably for mankind. This concept is expressed through the term “the glory of God”, which is used in the theological language of all organized religious systems to denote the manifestations of the sacred. The radiance, which symbolizes the divine grace, power and superiority over all the senses is a common and invariable part of the outward expression of the supernatural character of the events connected with the manifestations and actions of God’s glory. Therefore, one of the key problems facing the visual language of any religion is to find a concise, clear, easily doable and easily understandable form in which to express the theophanic radiance. Thus, two of the most ancient sacred symbols in human history – the nimbus and the aureole (mandorla) were born. In Christian art, the mandorla has been used to depict the manifestations of God’s presence and actions. The human consciousness perceives the verbal descriptions of theophanic events differently and is not able to create a general convention for their uniform understanding, so the iconographic canon uses certain symbols capable of presenting the necessary universal ideas. The mandorla is an oval, oval-pointed or round outline, which in certain iconographic subjects encompasses the figure of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Trinity and the Theotokos or in rare cases those of some saints. It serves as a visual epitome of the phenomenon of God’s glory.

more particularly to the halo or the nimbus, has not yet been properly analysed. Moreover, a fundamental element such as the nimbus, has also only been occasionnally considered but not yet systematically analysed. In short, its development has not yet been drawn, although it presents enough motifs which would allow it.i'i We shall thus confine ourselves to a brief survey of the early development of the nimbus in India, mentioning the motifs introduced at a later period in Central Asia. As a matter of fact, decorative elements introduced at the nimbus or the halo, could emigrate from one country to the other or vice-versa (e. g. the flame to which we first thought of, originates probably from Central Asia from where it was integrated in post-Gupta art).

The presentation aims to focus on some texts, among which Genesis 3, Exodus 4 and 7, Number 21, and their traditions. In these accounts, one of the most representative characters is the serpent (nḥš or tnyn). Before discussing these passages more thoroughly, we will briefly report what has emerged from the examination of the whole “serpent” lexical field’s. We will show that all its world, symbolic and non-symbolic, is solidly anchored in Mesopotamian mythology. During the analysis, it also became very evident that the “serpent” has always been present in Jewish tradition, from the most ancient up to the most recent. Thanks also to the translations, it continually renews its strength to interpret reality (from Genesis to Revelation, via Septuagint and Targumim, from the bronze serpent of Numbers 21 to the Jesus-alike-bronze serpent of John 3:14). That being the facts, it has been obvious to deduce the importance of this symbol for Jewish culture. Although the most common sense associates the serpent with negativity, we will highlight that it is not always the case, as well it is well shown by the texts already mentioned. We will try, therefore, to follow this “positive” track, examining the use that the later traditions will make of it.

Satul si Spiritualitatea Rurală - între tradiție și modernitate. Editura Reîntregirea, 2019

In the first part of this article, the basis of the Christian revelation is presented reference being made to the Gospel of John, chapter I (The Word Became Flesh). Several concepts have also been documented regarding the image depiction of the Savior in the Christian age. The article then describes how the human face can be understood as an image created in the likeness of God, and in order to sustain this statement a face was constructed using the golden ratio and the logarithmic spiral, using notions of theology and symbolics in order to make the research more concrete. In addition to the above-mentioned aspects, a case study was accomplished about the icon of the Virgin of Nicula, a model of Transylvanian iconography, as well as a symbol of the transcendence manifested through image. The defining attributes of the icon were extracted as a synthesis of the stylistic expression and a study was carried out in order to exemplify the particularity of the Romanian spirituality in relation to the Romanian culture, as well as the universal one.

Valley Humanities Review, 2015

Popular conception holds that the prominent symbols of the Byzantine Empire and the iconography of the ascendant early Christian Church are directly associated to the Byzantine Empire itself. The famous double-headed eagle of the Palaiologoi Dynasty, despite its representation in popular media as being the (unofficial) official symbol of the empire, and the famous iconographic images of the early Christian Church, including the moon and star, all have their roots in ancient Mesopotamian culture, art, and religion. To understand their usage by the Byzantine Empire and the growing Christian Church, one must first understand the context and meaning these symbols played in earlier Mesopotamian cultures.