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Byzantine ivory icon - Crucifixion with Hades defeated by the cross, detail [~ 950]
Byzantine ivory icon
Crucifixion with Hades defeated by the cross, detail [~ 950]
Metmuseum AN 17,190,44
At the bottom of the composition, Christ's cross pierces the belly of a reclining, bearded male figure representing Hades, ruler of the Underworld, abode of the dead in classical mythology. This is a unique detail that visually proclaims Christ's triumph over death and sin. The complementary inscription affirms "the cross implanted in the stomach of Hades." The figures of the Virgin Mary and the Apostle John stand on either side of the cross; the Virgin makes a rhetorical gesture toward Christ, while the Apostle raises his hand to his face in sorrow. This feeling of gentle introspection parallels the mosaic image of the same scene found at the eleventh-century Monastery of Daphni near Athens.
Byzantine ivory icon - Crucifixion with Hades defeated by the cross, detail [~ 950]
Byzantine ivory icon
Crucifixion with Hades defeated by the cross, detail [~ 950]
Metmuseum AN 17,190,44
At the bottom of the composition, Christ's cross pierces the belly of a reclining, bearded male figure representing Hades, ruler of the Underworld, abode of the dead in classical mythology. This is a unique detail that visually proclaims Christ's triumph over death and sin. The complementary inscription affirms "the cross implanted in the stomach of Hades." The figures of the Virgin Mary and the Apostle John stand on either side of the cross; the Virgin makes a rhetorical gesture toward Christ, while the Apostle raises his hand to his face in sorrow. This feeling of gentle introspection parallels the mosaic image of the same scene found at the eleventh-century Monastery of Daphni near Athens.