AI Summary & Key Takeaways
AI InsightThe subject is supported by images as visual transmission of the symbolism of honey and bees in Byzantine art
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Abstract
In this article, the iconography of the “faithful servant” bee and “virtue” honey in Byzantine art has been researched with the origin of honey according to mythology and sacred scriptures, its relevance with the funeral rites and the afterworld, its affiliation in the conception of resurrection and wine-bread, its meaning in the baptism rituals with the written hymns for praise of bees as part of the liturgy. In the same context, the scared works of bees contain the meaning of the existence of candle related to the Joy of Easter and the Immaculate Conception of Virgin Mary. The rich content of the Old Testament, which is full of proverbs about honey, is also the origin of bees. The first data on the idea behind the depictions of this animal in Christian art mostly dates back to pre-Byzantine times. The traces of honey in Hittite rituals in Anatolia indicated that the “Goddess-bee-honey” association of Hittite Mythology continued with another moon goddess Ephesia Artemisia in Anatolia; thousands of centuries later within Christianity, The mother of God, who was declared Theotokos in Ephesos again in Early Byzantine Period, Virgin Mary’s re-association with bees indicates the existence of a concept of “honey and mother goddess” that continued for centuries with the faithful servant bees of divine figures. Therefore, it was primarily consulted to the ancient literature for the research of the iconographic origin of bees and honey. Important reference sources include the concept of hive in the same iconographic framework, from Minoan and Mycenaean gold signet rings to Niketas Choniates›s hive analogies, as well as its relationship with the euchariste doctrine in the story of Joseph and Asenath, as well as the «honey madness» encountered in Anatolia, some oracle methods, are the elements that have been transferred to the next centuries. Among the important reference sources, from the Minoan and Mycenaean golden signet rings to Niketas Choniates› hive analogies, the concept of the hive is as a basic element between the Joseph & Asenath story and the euchariste doctrine, also the «honey madness» in Anatolia with the methods of divination, were discussed in the same iconographic framework. In contrast to the scarcity of archaeological data on bees and honey of the Byzantine cultural environment, some religious figures lead its rich iconography; a stylite Saint Lazaros of Mt. Galesion (Alamandağ) in West Anatolia, Elias Spelaiotes as a patron saint of honey in the Middle Byzantine period hagiographia, one of the early Church Fathers the archbishop of Constantinopolis John Chrysostom with the Bishop of Milan Saint Ambrose and the texts from Pseudo-Oppian to Basilius Magnus. The memory of history has certainly enriched it with additions while conveying a living visual language to communities with iconography, and although some changes have been made, honey has always been seen as a miraculous essence that expresses God himself and what is from himself. The subject is supported by images as visual transmission of the symbolism of honey and bees in Byzantine art
Özet
Bu makalede, mitolojiye ve kutsal metinlere göre balın kökeni, cenaze hazırlıkları ve öteki dünya ile bağı, yeniden diriliş kavramı ve şarap-ekmek ile kurulan ilişkisi, vaftiz ritüellerindeki anlamı, litürjinin bir parçası arılara yazılan övgü ilahileriyle Bizans sanatında ‘sadık hizmetkar’ arı ve ‘erdem’ balının ikonografisi araştırılmıştır. Hıristiyan sanatında bu hayvana ait tasvirlerin ardında yatan düşüncenin ilk verileri çoğunlukla Bizans öncesine dayandığından, arı ve balın ikonografik köken araştırması için önce antik dönem literatürüne başvurulmuştur. Bizans kültür ortamına ait arı ve bal’a dair arkeolojik verilerin azlığına karşın zengin ikonografisinde; Batı Anadolu’da Galesios Dağı (Alamandağ) stiliti Aziz Lazaros, Orta Bizans Dönemi balın koruyucu Azizi Spelaiotes’lı Elias, Yusuf ile Asenat, Kilise Babalarından Konstantinopolis Patriği Aziz Ioannes Hrisostomos ve Milano Başpiskoposu Aziz Ambrosias gibi dini figürler, Pseudo-Oppian, Aziz Basilius Magnus ve Prudentius’un metinleri araştırmaya yön vermiştir. Konu, Bizans sanatında bal ve arı sembolizimini aktaran görsellerle desteklenmiştir.