Signs & Symbols in Christian Art
George Ferguson
Number of quotes: 14
Book ID: 195 Page: 14
Section: 2E6
The centaur frequently appears in paintings of the life of St. Anthony Abbot because, according to legend, this fabulous animal pointed out to the saint the way to reach St. Paul the Hermit in the desert.
Quote ID: 4456
Time Periods: 347
Book ID: 195 Page: 16
Section: 2E6
The dragon is the attribute of St. Margaret, and of St. Martha, both of whom are said to have fought, and vanquished, a dragon. It is also the attribute of a number of other saints, including St. George of Cappadocia, who slew the dragon ‘through the power of Jesus Christ.’
Quote ID: 4457
Time Periods: 7
Book ID: 195 Page: 18
Section: 2E6
In Renaissance imagery, the fish is given as an attribute to Tobias because the gall of a fish restored the sight of his father Tobit; it is also given as an attribute to St. Peter, an allusion to his being a fisherman; and to St. Anthony of Padua, who preached to the fish.
Quote ID: 4458
Time Periods: 7
Book ID: 195 Page: 23
Section: 2E6
The phoenix was a mythical bird of great beauty which lived in the Arabian wilderness. Its life span was said to be between three hundred and five hundred years. Periodically, it burned itself upon a funeral pyre; whereupon, it would rise from its own ashes, restored to all the freshness of youth, and would enter upon another cycle of life. The phoenix was introduced into Christian symbolism as early as the first century, when the legend of this bird was related by St. Clement in his first Epistle to the Corinthians.
Quote ID: 4459
Time Periods: 6
Book ID: 195 Page: 26
Section: 2E6
The unicorn, according to the myth, was a small animal, similar in size to a kid, but surprisingly fierce and swift, with a very sharp, single horn in the center of its forehead. Supposedly no hunter could capture the animal by force, but it could be taken by means of a trick. The hunter was required to lead a virgin to the spot frequented by the unicorn and to leave her alone there. The unicorn, sensing the purity of the maiden, would run to her, lay its head in her lap, and fall asleep. Thus its capture would be effected.. . . .
Thus, the unicorn is usually an attribute of the Virgin Mary, but also of St. Justina of Padua and of St. Justina of Antioch, who retained their purity under great temptation.
Quote ID: 4460
Time Periods: 347
Book ID: 195 Page: 27
Section: 2E6
In Latin, the word for apple and the word for evil, malum are identical.
Quote ID: 4461
Time Periods: 07
Book ID: 195 Page: 34
Section: 2E6
The fleur-de-lis, a variety of lily, is the emblem of royalty. The fleur-de-lis was chosen by King Clovis as an emblem of his purification through baptism, and this flower has since become the emblem of the kings of France. For this reason, the flower is an attribute of St. Louis of France and St. Louis of Toulouse, both of them members of the royal house of France.
Quote ID: 4462
Time Periods: 567
Book ID: 195 Page: 35
Section: 2E6
Long before the Christian era, the ancient Celtic cult of the Druids worshiped the oak. As was often the case with pagan superstitions, the veneration of the oak tree was absorbed into Christian symbolism and its meaning changed into a symbol of Christ or the Virgin Mary. The oak was one of the several species of trees that were looked upon as the tree from which the Cross was made. (See Ilex, Aspen)
Quote ID: 4463
Time Periods: 4
Book ID: 195 Page: 97
Section: 2E6
The most common accepted division and order of the angelic host is that established by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, as follows:First Hierarchy: Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones.
Second Hierarchy: Dominations, Virtues, Powers.
Third Hierarchy: Princedoms, Archangels, Angels
Quote ID: 4464
Time Periods: 45
Book ID: 195 Page: 102
Section: 2E6
About a year after her death, the city of Catania was threatened with destruction by a stream of molten lava which poured down from Mt. Etna. The people of the city rushed to the tomb of St. Agatha and, taking her silken veil, carried it upon a lance to meet the advancing river of fire. When the stream of lave met the sacred relic it turned aside, and the town was saved.
Quote ID: 4465
Time Periods: 3
Book ID: 195 Page: 103
Section: 2C
St. Ambrose ( fourth century) is one of the four Latin Fathers of the Church.
Quote ID: 4466
Time Periods: 4
Book ID: 195 Page: 104/105
Section: 2E6
St. Anthony the Great or Anthony Abbot - At the age of ninety, he believed that no man had lived so long as he in solitude and self-denial. But he heard a voice saying, ‘There is one holier than thou, for Paul the Hermit has served God in solitude and penance for ninety years.’ Anthony, therefore, went in search of the Hermit Paul.On his way he met many wonders and temptations. A centaur and a satyr pointed out the way to him, while an ingot of gold was placed on his path by the Devil to stop him. But the saint dispelled all temptations with the sign of the Cross, and finally reached the cave where Paul was living. When they met, Paul told how each day for sixty years a raven had brought him half a loaf of bread. The two old men started to live together in the desert, and the raven thereafter brought, every day, a whole loaf of bread. After Paul’s death, Anthony returned to his own dwelling, where he remained for fourteen years, until his own death at the age of one hundred and five.
Quote ID: 4467
Time Periods: 4
Book ID: 195 Page: 106
Section: 2E6
Many Christians left the city to avoid death, but Apollonia, a deaconess of the Church, remained in the city to comfort the few who were left there. She awaited her martyrdom with joy, preaching the Christian faith and making many converts. For this she was arrested by the authorities and ordered to sacrifice to the gods of the city. The saint, however, made the sign of the Cross before the idols she was ordered to worship, and the statues broke into a thousand fragments. As punishment she was bound to a column and her teeth were pulled out by pincers. She was then taken outside the city, where a great fire had been prepared for her death. But Apollonia, far from being afraid, cast herself into the fire and offered her body to Christ. Her attributes are the palm of martyrdom and a pair of pincers holding a tooth. She is the patron saint of dentists.
Quote ID: 4468
Time Periods: 3
Book ID: 195 Page: 107
Section: 2E6
St. Barbara (third century) was born either at Heliopolis in Egypt or at Nicomedia in Asia Minor. She was brought up by her father, a rich heathen, who loved her very much and was fearful some man would marry her and take her away.. . . .
Finally, at his own request, her father was permitted to strike off her head. As he returned home after committing this awful deed, the father was killed by a bolt of lightning, which struck him down in the midst of a great crash of thunder. Because of this thunderous punishment, St. Barbara has become the patron saint of artillery and hence of soldiers, gunsmiths, and fire fighters. She is invoked against accidents and sudden death.
Quote ID: 4469
Time Periods: 3
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