Iconoclasm Essays

Iconoclasm, Greek for "breaker of icons" is the deliberate destruction within a culture of the culture 's own religious icons and other symbols or monuments, usually for religious or political motives. People who engage in or support iconoclasm are called iconoclasts, a term that has come to be applied figuratively to any person who breaks or disdains established dogmata or conventions. The early destruction of religious icons was done ritualistically to denote rejection of their worth. Early iconoclasm

know of the Bamiyan Buddhas are keenly aware of the role the Taliban played in their final destruction. What people don’t realize is that the complete elimination of sacred pieces is not a common practice in iconoclasm. Rather as Finbar Barry Flood points out in his article, common iconoclasm leaves remnants of the

would misdirect their worship toward the image, rather than toward the holy person represented in the image. This fear, in conjunction with the scriptural prohibition against worshipping graven images (Exodus 20:4) fueled much of the religious iconoclasm in Byzantium. The iconoclastic history of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople (now Istanbul),

rule the other? Should they exist completely separate from one another? Could the Church and the government achieve symphonia? The iconoclastic controversy was one of the main indicators that the Byzantine Commonwealth had serious flaws. While the iconoclasm controversy was, at face value, an issue over whether or not Christians should adorn their churches with icons and honor them, one must also wonder how much of the controversy was related to power and control. Certainly there were well-constructed

During the late 1790’s, began a revolution that brings the french people together and change the community of France forever(BBC, 2017). The french revolution was about the people versusing the king, his nobles, and the church(BBC, 2017). In the french revolution there was art that takes a big role during that time(BBC.2017). Art has many meanings but during that time of the revolution, there was hidden messages that only the nobles can understand and they also use art to communicate with each

In this essay, we are going to analyze how the decoration of the cathedral of Saint Sophia has evolved through the ages. We are only going to look at the mosaics producing during the Byzantine empire years, that is from 330 to 1453. Due to the word limit, we are going to look only to four of the many mosaics that are inside St Sophia. Those are the mosaic of the Virgin and the Child located at the apse of the Church, the Imperial Gate mosaic, the mosaic of the Empress Zoe located in the southern

Early Christian art borrowed many Roman and Pagan traditions with the use of their iconography and architecture. Both used sculpture to convey their ideals to their audience, for example in Rome Augustus of Primaporta, 1st century, Musei Vaticani, Bracooio Nuovo, Rome, is used to convey the idea of Augustus being a strong leader for the empire and at his legs is the god Cupid signaling his divine heritage. This sculpture stands as 6’ 8” made of marble. Early Christians used both the Roman style and

The story of Chris McCandless, chronicled by Jon Krakauer in Into the Wild, is a story of iconoclasm, of a young man who wants to deviate from the norm, and seclude himself from mainstream society. Chris, despite seeming like a typical kid fresh out of college, who wants to finally declare independence from school and family, is not simply like that. Chris not only wants to pursue a life independent from these institutions, but from the institution of society itself. By burning all his money and

Somewhere around 632, the Muslim prophet Muhammad passed away. As the leader of the Islamic community, his followers were faced with a difficult predicament: who will be the next leader? About 422 years later, in the European community, tensions increased between the Orthodox Christians and the Catholic Christians, which led to the Great Schism. Both religious divisions that occurred were similar in the sense that both related to a type of control that a specific person may have; however, the Christian

particularly in relation to religion. Both are important definitions to remember. The Orthodox Church in particular was a vital aspect of the separation between East and West Europe. 4. Iconoclasm: This term refers to one who a breaks or destroyers images, especially those set up for religious veneration. Iconoclasm has happened quite a bit throughout many cultures. It important for one who studies history to know in relation to both Eastern Europe and Islam. Icons are are a huge aspect of Eastern

The Great Schism A religion is thought to stick together, never fight, and always agree on things. In this case however, that is not how The Great Schism went down. The Catholic church made a compromise that still affects us today due to disagreements such as the role of the pope and the use of icons. According to The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, the main conflict or compromise related to this subject is the argument on the role of the pope and the excommunication (“The Schism of 1054”)

particularly icons, held great importance in this artistic tradition as they served as powerful tools for communication, devotion, and veneration. However, the use of images also became a subject of intense debate and controversy during the period of iconoclasm. Icons were central to Byzantine religious practices and acted as intermediaries between worshippers and the divine. They were believed to possess spiritual power and provide access to the sacred realm. Icons were used in private devotion, displayed

The Byzantine Iconoclastic Controversy began in 726 CE when Emperor Leo III issued a decree against the worship of icons.1 This action resulted in the removal and destruction of icons in churches and monasteries.2 There had been tensions rising between the church and the state over the use of icons for some time, but the culmination of these tensions along with the pressure of Muslim armies attacking the borders of Byzantium lead to the explosive Iconoclastic Controversy. The iconoclasts ardently

forbid worshipping and veneration of people and gods during the late eighth and early ninth centuries, beginning with Leo |||. It was known as Iconoclasm (meaning “the smashing of images”) because the emperors did not allow the use of holy items. This period of time changed under various rulers, but it did not permanently end until 843. The time of iconoclasm ended under the rule of Emperor Michael |||, when a Church council decided that they needed to “display religious

One of the two main reformers at the time was a Catholic priest named, Desiderius Erasmus who was from Rotterdam Holland and worked to reform the Roman Catholic Church. The other reformer from this time was Martin Luther, who was from Germany. With Luther’s concerns, there was a “practice of selling indulgences and the excessive veneration of saints and their relics, which he considered superstitious” (Stockstad & Cothren, p. 693). With Luther and others emphasizing individual faiths and referred

The school name to be Abraham Lincoln High school. It should be this because he was one of the most influential men in history, because he freed the slaves, and won the Civil War. I think the mascot should be a Bald Eagle, because it is a symbol of American freedom and democracy. It is a symbol of hope and freedom to the whole world. I think names and mascots are important to the students because it is a unifying thing they can all rally behind at ballgames and when they interact with other schools

The Eastern Germanic and Western Byzantine empires were coexisting realms in the worlds of Medieval Christendom but they were drastically different in many regards. Although neighboring kingdoms, the two empires had few similarities and great amounts of differences. The East and Western Worlds of Medieval Christendom differed in their economies and ideals of Christianity but the effect of having a unified religion was similar for both empires. The economic state of each of the empires, specifically

One of the major influences that changed the Northern Renaissance art style was the Reformation and the establishment of the Protestant church. Before Martin Luther came along, Italian Catholic cathedrals were donned with decoration with religious themes. They believed that they brought communication with God. Controversy, the protestants believed art and images of the like distracted those from God and would lead to adultery and other acts of sin. Therefore, the people of the Protestant church decided

The representation of features beyond human experiences has a long history since ancient times. In the Old Testament, under the Ten Commandments, God prohibits the use of images to represent God, an act that is described as idolatry. However, in the contemporary understanding of the use of icons and images, people have tried to justify their use through the representation of what is invisible. According to Freedberg, there is a clear difference between idolatry and the use of icons. In his argument

Renaissance, an oil on panel painting by Hans Memling called Triptych of St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist (c. 1474-1479) is a great example of the first foray into a more nature art style and the beginning of straying away from iconoclasm. (Hodges, 2014) The content features religious figures that are at this point still somewhat flat. There is the beginning of more natural lighting and shading. Some perspective is used in the foreground, but the