medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Well, don't forget those old Egyptians. Winged creatures that are clearly female
occur way back in Egyptian imagery. Indeed, I wish I knew more about them in
relation to other ancient winged ones in the Mediterranean and Near Eastern
worlds. The handbooks that I've seen are rather vague.
May all your holidays -- or at least the people in them -- be angelic!
Bob
>
> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
>
> > Comtemplating my Christmas cards raises the perennial question, "When did
> > angels become female?"
> >
> > [Yes, I know that angels are sexless, but male-gendered. Archangels tend to
> > be more butch - especially Michael - but angels seem to look rather
> > femme...]
>
> Dear John,
> The pictorial roots for the depiction of angels (quite separate from any theological
> conceptions) lie in the Roman world. Roman winged victory figures were most
> usually feminine, and during the 4th century, after the Edict of Milan in 313, it is
> often a moot point as to whether some figures, on Christian sarcophagi for example,
> were intended to represent Victories or angels. There are also some incredible
> images of, probably, souls in the 3rd-century synagogue frescoes at Dura Europos
> which are represented as winged female figures in long flowing gowns, remarkably
> anticipating the usual way that angels were depicted later in the Christian tradition.
> Merry Christmas!
> Jim Bugslag
>
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--
Robert A. Kraft, Religious Studies, University of Pennsylvania
227 Logan Hall (Philadelphia PA 19104-6304); tel. 215 898-5827
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http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/rs/rak/kraft.html
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