l,h TNTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE..HARMONY oF NATURE AND SPIRITUALITY IN STONE" Proceedings The Scientific and Organising Committee: Assistant Professor Violeta Cvetkovska Ocokolji6, PhD, President, Faculty for Culture and Media, Megatrend Univeristy, Belgrade, Serbia ZoranDaji(,, BSc, Deputy President, President of Stone Studio Association, Belgrade, Serbia Academician Professor Sokol Sokolovi6, PhD, Faculty for Culture and Media, Megatrend Univerisfy, Belgrade, Serbia Professor NebojSa Vasii, PhD, Faculty of Mining and Geology, Belgrade, Serbia Associate Professor Eduardo de Gregorio-Godeo, PhD, University of Castilla-La-Mancha, Ciudad Real, Spain Associate Professor Sergiu Baltatescu, PhD, University of Oradea, Oradea, Romania Assistant Professor Rostislava Georgieva Todorova, PhD, Konstantin Preslavsky University of Shumen, Bulgary Assistant Professor Zeljko Vukelii, PhD, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering, Ljubljana, Republic of Slovenia Leonel Ruiz Miyares, PhD, Director of the Centre for Applied Linguistic of the Cuban Ministry of Science, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba Du5an Mijovi6, PhD, Head of the Department of Geodiversity, Institute for Nature Conservation of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia Predrag Vujisii, PhD, Geo Service, Podgorica, Montenegro Aleksandra Dajii-Horvat, PhD, European University Institute, Florence, Italy Josip Milidi6, BSc. Eng. geology (Croatian Chamber of Economy,Zagreb, Croatia) Nemanja Smidiklas, Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia Anita Vasilkova Midoska, MPhil, Custodian of the Ancient collection in the National Museum of Veles, Republic of Macedonia Rosa D'Amico, Art hystorian, Director of the Superintendent for Historical, Artistic and Ethnoanthropological Heritage, Bologna, Italy Srdjan Sremac, MPhil, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Tondi Vlahovii, BSc, Carving school of Pudi56a, Brad, Croatia Mila MaruSii, Institute of Architecture and Urban & Spatial Planning of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia Publisher: Stone Studio Association Street Rovinjska 12 Belgrade, Serbia www.kamensrbij e. org.rs For the publisher: Zoran Dajii, BSc, President of Stone Studio Association Editor in Chief: Violeta Cvetkovska Ocokolji6, PhD Faculty for Culture and Media, Megatrend Univeristy, Belgrade, Serbia Book cover design: Jugoslav Ocokolji6, ZoranDaji6 Formation of Heaven (mosaic), Violeta Cvetkovska Ocokoljii,2008. Rozeta from the monastery Lazarica Translation: Jovana Dajii, Danica Sreikovii-Batoianin Technical support: Darko Milovanovii, Jelena Markov, Stone of Serbia Prepress: Vladimir JunSevrc Print: SpektarT" Kragujevac TABLE OF CONTENTS -\nastasovski \/lade. Stojanovski Blagoja, Jankov petar, Nikolov Stojande THE APPI-IC.\TIO\ OF STONE IN THE CONSTRUCTION PROCESS OF THE ROCK-FILLED KOZJAK OF R.TRESKA ........9 Coha Drasan LITOGR\PH\-... ..... .................... 15 cr etkor ska or--okoljii violeta, Tatjana Cvetkovski, Ana Langovi6 Milicevii \LCHE\{IC.\L TREATISES oF soLoMoN TRrsMoSrN: cRorro ........... 17 I .rr-.J,-, Rtrsa. CamllloTarozzi ST -,\E {\D COLOUR DURING THE MIDDLE AGES: - ?.i--t\I P-\NTED SURFACES ON SCULPTURES TO :IiE \PPLICATION OF PLASTER AND FRESCO PAINTING ..,,25 Da.lic Slavica PROTEROZOrc ROCKS IN THE VICINITY OF VALJEVO IHE OLDEST ROCKS IN SERBIA Dajic Zoran, Jelena Markov, Milan Koiial, Ilija Dokovii STONES USED FOR BUILDING MONASTRY MANASIJA .............. 35 ........... ...............45 .............. ................. 55 Durii leljko THE CULT MEANING OF STONE rN THE SCRTPTURE Gajii Violeta, NebojSa Vasii STRUCTURES OF THE STRUGANIK LIMESTONES ......... ,........63 Janjii Ivana TRANSYLVANIA AND PELES CASTLE, ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN .......... .......15 Kricak Lazar, Dragan Petrovii, \Iilanka Negovanovii, Ivan Jankovii, Dario Zekovic DEVELOPMENT OF NON EXPLOSNE FUEL MIXTURE FOR NON-INVASIVE PROCEDURES OF OBTAINIG THE BLOCKS OF DECORATIVE STONE ................... Lazarevrc Velibor ..BELOVODSKI" SANDSTONE IN SERBIAN TRADITION \\D THE POSSIBILITIES OF ITS USAGE TODAY 85 ..................... 91 Lirndo Maria Lopes Coelho Monteiro Filomena IHE STONE, PLACE AND OBJECT: COMPLICITY BETWEEN MAN \\D NATURE. TESTIMONIES FROM A PLACE, MOAITE DA PEDRA THE STONE HILL/STONE MOTINTAIN, ALENTEJO, SOUTH OF PORTUGAL) r.\D AN OBJECT (A LATE ANTIQUITY CAPITAL FROM FARO, r:G\RVE, PORTUGAL........... ................. 101 . , -,i Boro . ]\G STONES IN ONTARIO PROVINCE 5 . CANADA .... IO7 Matovi6 Vesna, Danica Sre6kovi6-Bato6anin, Suzana Eri6, Nenad Matovii, Kristina Sari6 THE IMPORTANCE OF OPTICAL INVESTIGATIONS FOR DETERMTNATTON THE QUALTTY OF ARCHTTECTURAL STONES ........ 113 Mijovi6 Du5an, Mirjana Nikolii GEODIVERSITY OF SERBIA - PART OF THE NATURAL RESOURCES ..............,.,.,125 Milivojevi6 Dejan STONE SIGNS, RECONSTRUCTION OF THE THEME TITLED: ESSAY ON FLOOR ... 131 Milovanov i6, Dr agan, Lidij a AmrdLi6, S lobodan KneZ evi i, Nenad Banjac, Milorad Klidkovi6, Aleksandra Maran GEOHERITAGE OBJECT - NATURAL PARK "SARGAN-MOKRA GORA" ........,.,.,.,I43 Pe5i6 Zoran USING STONE FROM FORM TO THE MEANING OF EXISTENCE Popovii Virdinija A GENIUS WHO MADE STONE ETERNAL CONSTANTIN BRANCU$I IN PUBLICATIONS OF MARIN SORESCU Radivojevi6 MaSa, Vesna Matovi6, Nenad Matovi6, Ivan Raki6, Nada Vaskovi6 DECAY OF STONE BUILT INTO THE MAIN ENTRANCE OF THE MANASIJA MONASTERY ........... Rokavec Du5ka, JoZe Kortnik OUTLOOK OF SLOVENIAN MINERAL RESOURCES AND Sre6kovid-Bato6anin Danica, Manja Savi6, Nenad Matovi6, Branko Munjas, Mladenovii M. BASIC ROCKS FROM THE POVLEN MOLTNTAIN AS A BUILDING MATERIAL .............. Stefanovi6 Sre6ko THE INFLUENCE OF WEATHERING ON THE STONE AND PROTECTION OF STONE .......... 151 MINING ... 161 ....163 ......179 ...... 185 ................ 199 Stojkovski Boris HOLY STONECUTTERS FROM THE TERzuTORY OF NOWADAYS SERBIA ..........209 Todorova Georgieva Rostislava THE MIGRATING SYMBOL: VESICA PISC6 FROM THE PYTHAGOREANS TO THE CHzuSTIANITY ..................217 Vasi6 Neboj5a, Selah Turki, Danica Sre6kovi6-Bato6anin, Marija Savi6, Khalid Sherif, Nevena Andri6 CEMENTATION OF SANDSTONES FROM PALEOZOIC, MESOZOIC AND TERTIARY FORMATIONS IN LIBYA ..........229 Vasilkor.a Midoska Anita ATHENA'S DEAREST - CULT COMMTINITY OF ATHENA AND HERAKLES IN REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA ......... ,,,,....,.241 Voicu Cristina-Georgiana LOST IN THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE: THE SIGNIFICANCE OF LOCATIONS IN JEAN RHYS'S WIDE SARGASSO SEA .,....243 Vujisi6 Predrag, Nada MadZarevi(,, Aleksa Vujisii ETERNITY PLAY OF ROCK IN TIME ..,.,251 Vukelii leljko \{ODERN DRILLING IN EXPLORING AND EXPLOITATION OF STONE ,,...,,,....,...257 \\-rench Irene da Graca Nunes Correia Licinia A MAGIC KALEIDOSCOPE OF COLOURFUL STONES: THE FLOWERS OF THE ROMAN MOSAICS FROM PORTUGAL .............. ,...............,273 Zekovii Zvonimir STONE IN VISUAL ARTS IN SERBIA Zekovic Zvonimir DECORATIVE MORTARS IN RESTORATION OF WALL PAINTINGS OF SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH .....27g ........285 Zotovi(, Radmila PRESENTATION OF THE DISHES ON THE GRAVE MONUMENTS OF THE EASTERN PART OF THE ROMAN PROVINCE OF DALMATIA .................2g1 Zivkov i( Cvetko, Du5an Milosavlj evi6 THE HOMOLJ COLINTY THE GEOLOGICAL AND ECONOMIC CENTRE OF STONE, WHEN REFERING TO THE BUDDING SPECIES, THEIR QUALITY, QUANTITY, AS WELL AS THE USABILITY OF THE DECORATIVE STONE IN SERBIA AND BALKAN L ,,..2g9 Todorova Georgieva Rostislava Konstantin Preslavsky University of Shumen,BulgarialAristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece THE MIGRATING SYMBOL: VESICA PISCIS FROM THE PYTHAGOREANS TO THE CHRISTIANITY219 Abstract: Present paper aims to trace out in broad outlines the process of "migration" of the ancient symbol of "Vesica piscis" across the centuries and religions. Special attention will be paid on transition of the symbol in the Early Christianity and its fuither development as a 'Christian mandorla'. In the Christian iconography mandorla has two main shapes oval and round, with notable diversity of meanings. Therefore the accent will be putted on the elucidation of different sense of each form and on the variety in the artistic usage of them in the Eastem and Western Christian Art. The main emphasis will be laid on the evolution of the philosophical and religious meaning of the symbol of "vesica piscis" during the centuries. Key words: Vesica piscis, Mandorla, Sheela-na-gigs, Christian iconography. Introduction Symbols have been accompanying humankind during its history and are probably the most important mean for expressing more or less abstract ideas, tightly bond with the religious beliefs. In other words, symbo1220 can be described as a token that stands for something else and specifically in the encounter with the divine. Therefore, symbolism in the general meaning of the term has been always understood as a particular mode of religious thought. (Struck 2005, 8906-89 1 5) Symbol has both - universal and particular meaning at the same time. Universal since it transcends history and particular, because it relates to a definite period of history. (Cirlot 1971, XVD. Belonging to a particular time does not dim the meaning of the symbol, because it remains in-touched with its archetype and its precise significance never loses its connection with the core meaning of the proto-symbol. Exactly this intemrpted connection between the universal and the particular meaning of symbols let them to "migrate" fiom century to century and from one religion to other. The foci of the present paper are to trace out transition of the ancient sacred symbol of vesica piscis into Christianity, to reveal the real meaning of mandorla as an artistic phenomenon in Christian Iconography, and to deal with its diversity in the Eastem Orlhodox and the Western Rome-Catholic art. is built in the religious and philosophical system of Christianity, is huge. The meaning of some of the Christian symbols such as the Holy Cross or the Sign of the Cross is perfectly clear and has not been changed during the long Church Symbolic diversity, which 2le Acknowledgements: Sincere thanks are due to the Bulgarian National Science Fund for funding of research project Jlb AIOCTAOK 02-1l1 1.01.2010 2'0 Greek word ouppilov (ro) derives from the archaic Greek verb ooppilAa - "to put together". The earliest attestation of the word is in the Homeric hymn to Hermes. Also the verb has got a sense of meaning "to agree". 217 tradition. However, there are Christian symbols whose interpretation of meaning is still under dispute, especially what concerns symbols, which originated in the pre-Christian pagan beliefs, philosophical systems, and cultures. One of these visual symbols is so-called mandorla.It has found its usage in the Christian image tradition mainly as a representation of the "Glory of God" (Harrison 1979,477-483), although some scholars have their reasons for considering it as a symbol with much more feminine meaning. (Hagstrom 1998, 25-29) The "Christian mandorla" is a symbol with multilayered meaning and this diversity is caused by the difficulties in explanation of the essence of what the Glory of God really is.221 The initial position of the present investigation is that the roots of mandorla as a visual sign can be seen in the Pythagorean idea of vesica piscis. (Walker 1988, 16); (Cooper 1992,I03104). It can be assumed that this geometrical vertically-pointed oval form was adopted by Christian art as a visual symbol of the Divine Glory of God. This adoption was made because of the philosophical background of the symbol (Pearson 2002,80-82) in the same manner the adoptions of many other notions from pagan Platonism and Neo-Platonism for example, were made by Christianity. 1. Vesica piscis - origins and meaning Firstly, in the mystery religions and famously among adherents of the Pythagorean sects the term ooppilov was used as a designating sign and as a guarantee for authentic appurtenance. Special symbols had been used as a secret passwords or enigmatic verbal or visual formulas that verify the membership in a particular cult. (Struck 2005,8907) One of these symbols was the apple - Pythagoreans had the custom to bring an apple as a gift to the strangers and those who understood its symbolism would slice the apple. Sliced across, the apple core depicts a pentagram in the center of a circle, yet sliced lengthwise forms two intersected circle s in the middle of which a vesica piscis appears (Fig.I). 22r The mandorla has appeared in the very beginning of the Early Christian art because of the urgent necessity of finding a visual sign for the abstract phenomenon of the "Glory of God', described in the Scriptures with the Hebrew word"kabowf'(translated by "gloria" in the Vulgate and"66(a" in the Septuagint). A11 of these terms represent the supreme and unachievable sacred event of the God's theophary, - direct manifestation of the Divine *6o(a" is a frequently discussed matter, because the Dynamics of God. Greek translation of "kabowd'with Hebrew word literally means some physical characteristics such as heaviness, solidity, weightiness and its second, more abstract meaning is connected with the notion of glory, honor, richness and affluence. It is very important to underline this binary essence of the term "kabowd': "The Targumists will divide the two elements of kabod into two new words: shekinah (from shakan, "to dwell") will refer to the abiding presence of God's majesty, while yekara will be reserved for the sensory splendour of light". (Balthazar, H. U. von. 1991. The Glory of the Lord: A Theological Aesthetics. Vol. 6: Theology: The Old Covenant. Edinburg: T&T Clark, p. 53) The differentiation of "shekhinah" and"yekara" as the two main elements of meaning of the term "kabowd'is crucial for the proper investigation of mandorla as a visual device. "Shekhinah" refers to the abiding presence of God's majesty (Werblowsky R. J. Zwi, Wigoder, Geoffrey (ed. in chief). 1997. The Oxford Dictionary oJ the Jewish Religion. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 629-630), whlle "yekara" refers to the manifestation of God's glory through light, luminosity, shiningness, radiance, beams, fire. Despite all different intetpretations of "shekinah" in Hebrew texts, it had been viewed as a spatial-temporal event, when God "sanctifies a place, an object, an individual, or a whole people - a revelation of the holy in the midst of profane". ("Shekhinah".l974. Eicyclopaedia Judaica.3'h ed. Jerusalem: Keter Publishing House Jerusalem Ltd., l4th Vol., coll. 1349-1354) It can be presumed, that"shekhinah" blazed its way into Byzantine iconography through the exegetical tradition of authors as Philo of Alexandria or St. Gregory of Nissa and Pseudo Dionysius the Areopagite, while "yekara" was donrinant for the Hesychastic tradition. As it has been mentioned above, this binary meaning of "kabowd' did not transit separately into the Greek "66(a" and into the Latin "gloria" . Therefore, both notions of luminosity and spatial presence of God's "Glory" mixed in verbs have been divided in the Christian iconography by usage of two different types of mandorla oval and round. 218 IXSYE Figure 1. Vesica piscis Figure 2.The sign of IX@yX If the intersection of two equal circles is made in the way that both have a common radius and the center of one lies on the circumference of the other, the result is an almondshaped geometrical figure (cooper 1992,205). vesica pirri,r; rrl.r"i.jilv ,h" g.o-"try to the triangle and the Golden Section, uLd * general signines the mediation of opposites. (Fletcher 2004, 95) It has been generally bel]eved that" the vertical vesica piscis denotes fertility and divine femininity, andlhe horizontal one symbolizes the unity of being (De vries Pythagoreans used it as a perfect sign orine harmony ]974,311)' una irr" entireness of the being with its inherent opposites. vesica piscis symbolized all ten couples of opposites formulated by Plhagoras and especially the entire bor-o, as a unity between material and sacred space' This esoteric symbol rapidly became very populu-zli iitrr.'"rj.", art and its egg-like shape had been used for depicting the Cosmos and the birth of tife, linman 1979,47; 90-93) the feminine archetype of being (Hagstrom lgg8, 26), etc. From view vesica piscis. represents together terrestrial and celestial (Cirlotciristian point of lg;1,"'2;;^;;, humanity and divinity, which ur" inr.pu.ably bound together after the christ Resurrection (Fig.2). Figure 3. Alkmene. Greek red-figure vase painting. Python. Later IV c. BC, British Museum, London 222 "' Figure 4. Alkmene and Hyades. Greek red_ figure vase painting. C. 360-340 BC, British Museum. London Lrterally vesica. piscis means ..bladder of a fish,,. (Inman 1gi9, g0). It can be explained with the variety of meanings based on the i'.o-mon ground,, shared by the two circles. 219 It has been generally believed that the name of the symbol derived from the notion that women's genitals smell like fish. For example, Joseph Campbell tells us that the Hindu title for the Great Goddess was "a virgin named Fishy Smell whose real name was Truth". (Campbell 1991, 13) In this field of the divine femininity, an interesting connection with the ancient Hellenistic idea of the Virgin Goddess (Iwersen 2005, 960I-9606) can be seen. Besides, the oval shape is used as a depiction of the Cosmic Egg, which in many religions symbolizes the principle of life, the hidden origin and mystery of being, the womb, the cosmic time and space, the perfect state of unified opposites. (Cooper 1992, 60) Especially this artistic device appeared in the manner of representing the Pantheon of gods and their activities in the ancient Hellenistic art. (Brendel 1944, 19-20). The Zoroastrian notion of the light luminous clouds, that enveloped bodies of gods as a visual sign of their divinity had been transited into the Hellenistic art - gods lived and acted among people, but they derived from cosmic powers and remained bound by cosmic necessity "Avayn1"22a, as Virgil described it in the Aeneid (Loerke 1981, 15- 16; 18) - from which it was adopted into the early Christian art. -.b ;':3 s 'ift lI( *- b Figure 5. Poseidon and Amymone. Greek vase painting. National Museum, Naples. Jahrbuch des Deutshcen Archriologischen Instituts 27 , I9I2:284, Figure 1 1 It is important to note that this "cloud of divinity" in the ancient Greek images (Fig. 3 and 4) had light character but in certain cases it had protective functions too (Fig. 5) - gods used it for self-protection and for protection of their favorite humans (Brendel 1944, 17lg)"t. 2. The transition of Vesica piscis between cultures and religions The concept of vesica piscis with all its variety of meanings had been very easily transited between ancient religions and cultures. It was always connected with the sacred meaning of the egg, the almond or the fish with their oval shapes. About "anangke" see: Rosher, W. H. 1965. Auffihrliches Lexikon der griechischen und rcimischen Mythotogie. Hildesheim: Georg Olms Verlagsbuchhandlung..1th Vol.: 334 "Ananke".1964. Der Kleine Pauly th Lexikon der Antike. Stuttgart: Alfred Druckenmiiller Verlag. l vol.: 332; "t See a/so: Pease, S. "Some Aspects of Invisibility". Harvard Studies in Classical Philology 53,(1942):1-36; Mulay, A. S. "The Alkmene Vase Formerly in Castle Howard". The Joumal of Hellenic Studies l1 (1890): 2252301 iook, A. B. 1914-1 940. Zetts; a Study in ancient Religion. 3th vol. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 510-520; Lee, R. L.2001. The Rainbow Bridge: Rainbows in Ar| Myth and Science. Bellingham: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 16-21. 22a 220 The symbol of the almond is associated with virginity, the yoni (Apffel-Marglin 2005, 9905-9909), the conjugal happiness, and the reproduction. In various religions the almond seed signified especially the divine virgin birth, and a good example of this can be found in the story of the virgin nymph Nana miraculously conceived Attis by putting a ripe almond in her bosom. (Frazer 1998,346) In Chinese tradition it was connected with the feminine beauty, fortitude in sottow, watchfulness. (Cooper 1992,10) In Hindu, Egyptian, Chinese and Greek symbolism the Cosmic Egg was seen as an origin of the Universe, suddenly burst asunder. The sun was considered as a golden egg in Egypt, and the whole sky was believed to be created in the form of an egg of shining metal in Zoroastrianism. Brahmanism teaches for the golden egg of cteation, which two halves formed both earlhy and heavenly worlds. (Cooper 1992,60) The symbol of the fish was associated with all aspects of the Mother Goddess and was connected with a phallic denotation. Also it was understood as a token of fecundity, procreation, renewing of life. In Buddhist tradition fish is a symbolic footprint of Buddha and denotes the emancipation from desires and attachments. Buddha himself is described as a Fisher of Men. In Egyptian tradition fish symbolized the phallus of Osiris, and two fishes together described the creative principle and fertility. Ancient Greeks had the symbol of the fish as an attribute of Aphrodite, depicting love and fecundity. It was also connected with Poseidon and Adonis. In Hinduism the fish depicts wealth and fertility and is an attribute of divinities of love. (Cooper 1992,68-69) Image of the fish has been an important part of symbolic system of Hebrew-Christian tradition. In Judaism fishes are the faithful of Israel in their true element, the waters of the Torah. The fish symbolizes the heavenly banquet of the future life and of bliss. "In Judaism, fish was regarded as the food of the blessed in paradise and was eaten at the Sabbath meal (coena pura). The old Jewish Passover was in the month of Adar, the Fish, and the traditional symbol of the national restoration that is to come with the advent of the Messiah is the great fish on which the righteous will feast. Sabbath utensils and the chalice of benediction are often decorated with images of fish." The corollary of the fish as blessing has its transition in Early Christian Church as a symbol of the Savior. (Dunnigan 2005, 3123) First direct usage of this token among the early Christians can be seen in the fish shape "Iy7uq" the hidden pictogram of Christianity (Fig. 2), used during the persecutions in the first centuries AD (Didron 1965, 344-360); (Jensen 2000, 46-51). In general the symbol of the fish in Christianity denotes Baptism, immortality and resurrection; the sacramental fish with wine and a basket of bread represents the Eucharist and the Last Supper in the Christian art; the Early Church Fathers used the analogy with fishes and fishers for the faithful and the apostles. (Cooper 1992,68) The end of persecution and the gradual changes in the official status of Christianity after the moment of its legalizationwith the Edict of Milan imposed a rapid formation of a new set of visual symbols suitable to depict the new religious content. The allegoric way of expression yielded precedence to the realistic images in the Christian art and the adopted in it pagan symbols has received new significance and usage. Because of its symbolic background (De Vries 7974,311) and especially because of its form as a "point" at which opposing forces or worlds simultaneously divide and meet (Baidock 1990, 38) vesica piscis has become a widely used visual token of the supreme and unachievable sacred event of the Glory of God - the most direct manifestation of the Divine Dynamics of God. (Loerke 1981, 15-16) 221 l 3. The Christian mandorla In the fifth-sixth century AD the mandorla has found its usage in the Early Christian art as an artistic device, circumscribing predominantly Christ's figure (Fig. 6). Term "mandorla" derives from the Italian word for "almond'because of its almond-like shape (Ferguson 1973, 14g)226. Figure 7. Stoning of Moses and his Figure 6. Transfiguration. Apse mosaic, St. Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai, c. 550-565 companions. Nave mosaic, detail, Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome, c.432-440 The term vesica piscis has been completely rejected from the most scholars because of at least two reasons. Firstly, the accent of meaning of the old pagan symbol as a sign of the unity was chanced into a token of the Divinity of Christ. Thus, the Christian mandorla canbe connected more closely with the way of expression of the divinity of ancient gods and the halo as a visual sign of it. The nimbus as a luminous figure around the head of a god or a holy person could be seen in many ancient religions, and also sometimes it expresses the idea of an internal supernatural force and hence partakes of the full range of light symbolism from both Western and Eastern traditions. A particular use of an aureole, circumscribing the whole person, can be seen in the Iranian khvarenah, w!r^1ch belongs to the gods, but can be given to the grace of AhuraMazda."' tJ"uge of almond-shap^g aureoles of flames important humans by-of the gods is typical also for Buddhists images228 and for Islamic around the bodies representations of a person inside aureole of flames or in a peafl2ze. (Magalis 2005,6624) Secondly, change of the term can be seen as a direct attempt for fading the feminine and vaginal meanings of the symbol (Pearson 2002,80), because of their unsuitability with the Christian dogmatics and the Christian way of understanding God and the Holy Trinity. Precisely this was the reason forced Didron to write his sentence about the term vesica piscis: "a tertrr so gross deserves to be expunged from every refined system of terminology... "u Snn a/so: Bcick, A. 1997. "Mandorla". Das Rectllexicon zur byzantinischen Kunst. Stuttgart: Hiersemann: 1- 17. "' lt can be seen as a successor of the Zoroastrian idea of "glory" as a manifestation of gods. In the religious doctrine of Zoroastrianism words "hvarna" or "farnah" render material manifestation of the divine blessing and divine inspiration of the supreme god Ahura Mazda. (Ramsden, E. H. "The Halo: A Further Enquiry into its Origin". The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs, 78, 457 (1941):123-131); Symbolized by the sunrays, lightning, and flarnes in an oval form around the body, the"glory of god'leads humans up to the spiritual insight "chishta". (Santillana, G. de, Dechend, H. von. 1977. Hamlet's Mill; an Essoy on Myth and the Frame of'Time. Boston: Godina: 40-41) tt* S"., Soper, Alexander C. "Aspects of Light Symbolism in Gandharan Sculpture". Atribus Asiae, 12, 3 (1949): 252-283. Continued in: Atribus Asiae, 12,4 (1949): 314-330 and Atribus Asiae, 13, 1/2 (1950): 63-85 2tn Here the pearl presents Paradise, where the blessed ones go after death. 222 invented and employed even to abuse..."230 lDidron 1965, 108). Didron actually gave voice to a thought presumably shared by others since little was written by reputable art historians about this widely used shape in the Christian iconography. Most likely this was the real reason the term "mandorla" to has come in use - to describe in more "Christian" religious terms this visual device as a window into sacred space or as an aureole of the Glory that surounds figure of Christ, the Virgin Mary and rarely some saints. (Pearson 2002,80) Figure 8. Virgin and Child in mandorla, Morse ivory, h. 10 sm., first half of the 1lth c. AD, Victoria and Albert Museum, London Figure 9. Madonna in mandorla, fresco, San Fedele basilica, Como, Italy,l2th c. AD Generally speaking, the Christian interpretation of the ancient oval-pointed form favored more theological references. Mandorla has been used to indicate theophanies or visionary experiences like those of the prophets or to solve the problem with the proper depiction of God in Heaven - the aureole of light isolates the supernatural from the rest of the image. (Grabar 1968, 116) In one of the earliest extant pattems of the Christian mandorla different character of the space in it is underlined by depicting the hand of God on top (Fzg. Z). However, it is important to note that Christian art has developed two basic types of mandorla - the primary one is oval or vertically-pointed oval, and the secondary one is round. Both of them are usually depicted with several color layers within them, with or without rays, but it can be assumed that these two types have different meanings. The oval one is more spatial and expresses the fuIl significance of the Hebrew word kabowd, whose root meaning is 'weight, heaviness, richness' and unfolds the spatial manifestation of God's presence. The round one is more common to the second meaning of kabowd as 'glory, honor, and eminence'; in addition it is strongly related to the expression of the Divine Light as a visual sign of God's Energies. And yet, some authors see relations between the visual sign of mandorla and the Incamation of Christ, when His immaterial divine form took on human flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Evidentially Grabar discusses another type of mandorla which is completely different from the previous examples - a circle or an ovoid shape surounding Jesus Christ as an infant inside the Holy Theothokos's body. (Grabar 1968, 128) Obviously, despite of blunting of the anatomical reference of its oval-pointed shape, the mandorla is still relevant to t30 Didron claimed that the term"vesica plscls" was invented by English "antiquaries" 223 the pagan feminine semantic of vesica piscis. (Pearson 2002,83) Although these types of images depicting the Virgin Mary as a real "tabernacle" of God occur in both - the Eastern Orthodox2ll and the Western Roman Catholic iconography, the old feminine and vaginal notion of mandorla is not familiar with the Orthodox image tradition. Orthodox iconography use mandorla domtnantly as a visual sign of the Glory of God, and therefore it appears only on that place, where the Prime source of the energies, the Source of the Thaboric light, the Master of every creation is depicted. This is the reason ^why in those rqlg cases, when mandorla is drawn around the Most Holy Theotokos alone23'or around saints233, it misses the rays of Ihe uncreated light, because the glorified human being is illuminated for his/her spiritual feats from the God's Grace, but is not able to be a source of that Grace. In contrast to the Orthodox tradition, Westem Roman Catholic imagery has preserved some traces of the archetypal feminine meaning of the ancient "vesica piscis" (Hagstrom 1998,26). Mandorla with precise oval-pointed form (Fig. 8 and 9) has been widely used in the Western Medieval art, especially between 12to and 15'n c. AD. (Pearson2002,89-91) The mandorla s shape may incorporate a number of referents simultaneously, including such with the pagan feminine meaning. What is more, some scholars believe that there is no single uniform significance to any object or shape in the medieval art. (Camille 1998, 47) Artists have always borrowed ideas and pattems from each other and applied them in various ways, even beyond the borders of their traditional symbolic. Numerous authors comment that elements of pagan imagery appear on churches in remoter areas. These syncretic forms can be observed in almost every European country on places along the pilgrimage routes or in shrines, whose origin are a mixture of pagan and Christian traditions. (Pearson 2002,85) Figure 10. Sheela-na-gtg. Exterior of the Parish Church of St. Mary and St. David in Kilpeck, Hertfordshire, England, 1140 AD, Corbel 28 on the south apse, red sandstone 23r Figure 11. Baubo. Hellenistic miniature sculplure, 3th c. BC, 4,4x5,8 cm., Collection of Cl-assical and Near Eastern Antiquities, The National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen In the Orlhodox iconography this iconographical pattern is called "shirshaya nebes". Here it is highly recommended to be underlined the fact, that understanding of the oval geometric form that circumscribes the infant Christ inside the body of the Most Holy Theotokos as a mandorla is discussible. Some scholars reject this idea and argue that the oval (and more frequently round) form is nothing more than a medallion. As evidence they point to thor. very frequent pattems in which the Virgin is caring the oval with her hands, obviously not lnside trer body, but in front of it. In addition, especially in the Orlhodox tradition the oval form of this kind of medallion is not vertically pointed, but elliptical. ttt Similar iconographical patterns are frequently used in the iconographic tradition of Mount Athos - because of the dedication of the place to the Most Holy Theotokos. ttt In veryu.. o.rurior1 s mandorla circumscribes the figure of a saint, for example - in the scene with the assumption of St. Nikolas the Miracle Worker in the icons of the saint with scenes from his life. 224 One of these visual phenomena with pagan origin is so called "sheela-no-gig"234 name given by anthropologists, folklorists and art historians to the type of ancient grotesque carved stone sculptures23s of a naked woman displaying her oversized genitals, dated from ihe 12"'to the 17'n c. AD. (Fig. 10) "Sheela-na-gigs" are peculiar to Ireland, England, and Wa1es236, but are connected with similar female figures, found along the pilgrimagi routes in France, Spain and Italy. (Baileyl983, 113-114) Originally set high up on the exterior walls of churches, many of them were placed above the entrance, often even as a keystones. Also they could be positioned on quoins, pillar-stones, windows or corbels. (Dor 2003, 33) Scholars are still arguing about the semantics and usage of this problematic from Christian point of view figures. Some of them consider "sheela-na-gigs" as "female exhibitionists", just one of the many types of explicit and bawdy carvings on the Romanesque cathedrals. These kinds of images were designed as addition to the church's moral teaching and probably served as warnings against the lust. (Weir, Jerman i986, 10); (Dor 2003, 37) Figure 12. The Virgin and Child Enthroned, with Narrative Scenes. Margarito of Arezzo,I260s, The National Gallery, London, Great Britain According to other opinion, "sheela-na-gigs" are described as disgusting, offensive or "fertility frgure" (Banks 1935, 63) and because of their naked and "rude" bodies and certain connection with the ancient cult of the Mother Goddess, they were considered as pagan idols. (Munay, Passmore 1923, 141); (Pearson 2002, 130); (Dor 2003,37) After 1934 "sheela-na-gig" have been considered as erotic imagery and scholars have made a connection between them and Egyptian legend and Greek myth of Baubo and Baubo-figures from the Ptolemaic and Roman periods in Egypt and Hellas (Fzg. even evil. Euphemistically they were called 234 Discussion about origins and meaning of this name is still going, and the only point of agreement among scholars is that it is a folk nomenclature and is not able to provide any real information about the origins and purpose ofthese strange figures. Nevertheless, the term "sheela-na-gig" adopted in 1861 by the Royal Society of Antiquarians in Ireland, is commonly accepted. See: (Dor 2003,35-36 ); Guest, Edith. "Irish Sheela-na-gigs in 1935". Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquarians in lreland, 7,6 (1936): 127; Andersen, I6rgen. The Witch on the tMall: Medieval Erotic Sculpture in the British 1sles. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger; London: George Allen & Unwin, 1977 21-31 In rr.ry few cases they are wooden. t" t36 There are approximately 101 examples in Ireland and 45 in Britain. See: McMahon, J., Roberts, J.2000. The Sheela-na-gigs of lreland and Britain: The Divine HaS qf the Ancient Celts - An lllustrated Guide. Dublin: Mercier Press: 116-11l 225 11). (Dor 2003,47) Thus, their usage was assumed to be indicative for women's sexual pleasure. (Munay 1934,93-97) However, this theory is not capable to explain the positioning of "sheela-na-gigs" on church walls. Another, more elaborated investigation extends the potential meaning of the "sheela-na-gigs", especially what concerns their capacity to signifz various attributes of virginity, within the context of Celtic iconography and mythology, Christian symbolism, Romanesque art, and late medieval misogyny. (Dor 2003, 35) Figure 13. Har:rowing of Hell. Fresco in the parecclesion of the Chora Church, Istanbul, c. 1315 To some extent "sheela-na-gigs" can be understood as a product of religious point is the main magic. But the syncretism - the Christianization of apotropaic or fertility fact that all of them are nude and the gesture of their hands draws the viewer's attention upon their oversized genitals. Disproportions between the body and the genitals are very important, because all other gender characteristics are missing or rudimental. Thus, they cannot be considered as images of the lust pleasure and pomography, but rather as a remedy to encourage chastity or virginity. (Dor 2003, 47 -48) This meaning is very close to the notion of almond-shap e mandorla as a symbol of virginity. (Apffel-Marglin 2005,9905-9909) The ancient meaning of mandorla as a sign of the Virgin Goddess, the new birth and virgin birth (Inman 1979, 4l;90-93),^ leems relevant to the Western manner of depicting the Virgin Mary and the Child enthroned2" (Fig. 12).Here mandorla selves for both - indicating the Glory of God around the Holy Mother and the infant Christ, and pointing the Virgin Mary as a "Gate to the life". The mystical almond shape permits a multivalent reading of it as a depiction of the heavenly space around Christ in Glory, but also as a sign of His incarnation. (Pearson 2002,113) Although Christian elaboration of the symbol is very accurate, the old meaning of vesica piscis as a meeting point of the opposites and as a sign of the new (spiritual) life has not completely faded away. Similar meaning of mandorla some scholars have seen in the iconography of the Anastasis (Fig I3). Here it highlights the paradox of life coming out of death, so the death itself can be called mother, bringing forth new life. "The ancient vesica piscis, the birth canal or gate of life, is a door from one whole world to another." (Hagstrom 1998, 27) Christ's The iconographical subject of depicting the Most Holy Theotokos enthroned with the infant Christ is very popular in the Orthodox iconographical tradition too, but it lacks the mandorla. 237 226 death and Resurrection opened the only possible gate between heaven and earth mandorla of divine Glory. - the Conclusions Against this background we can conclude that the ancient vesica piscis as a denotation of the divine femininity, the beginning of the new life and the unity, is one of the most stable visual symbols in the history of human culture and beliefs. It derives from the nature and is a perfect sign of its harmony and the entireness of the being, with all its inherent opposites. What is more - vesica piscrs evolves from the constant human need of discovering the origins and meaning of life and existence. Thus, it has been firmly connected with the most stable archetypes - proto-symbols of being, which give it ground for a long "migration" during the centuries and different cultural and religious traditions. It should be underlined that the history of the vesica pisczs symbol is bound up with the spirituality of stones, in their symbolic meaning as representation of firmness, barrenness and fertility. (Edsman 2005 , 87 44-87 47 ) Large number of images of the Mother Goddess, signs of the fish, female fertility figures and reliefs, goddesses from different pantheons, sheela-nagigs and Christian mandorlas, have been made by stone. Firmness and eternity of the material expand the semantics of the token and correspond with its perpetuity. The general conclusion is that during centuries vesica piscis has never been faded its meaning as a sign of the unity of being. In this cosmic unity take part notions of fertility , gate to the life, feminine beginning of being, hidden geometry of nature, but also the divine glory, the reconciling of the opposites, the union of terrestrial and celestial. What concems transition of vesica piscis to the Christian mandorla, the philosophical and iconographical elaboration of the symbol in the Orthodox and in the Roman Catholic art has discerned. The Eastern tradition use it only as a visual devise for depicting the indescribable Glory of God and the uncreated Thaboric light of His presence. Ancient feminine and vaginal notion of vesica piscis is completely disappeared and in the Orthodox iconography takes place only its shape, transfigured in meaning from the East Orthodox dogmatism and hesychastic philosophy and practice. In contradiction with this, the Western Roman Catholic imagery has retained some hues of the archetypal feminine meaning of the ancient vesica piscis in the symbol of mandorla.Its shape and semantic remains polysemic and creates different types of iconographical patterns, adding new features to the general Christian notion of divinity. References Apffel-Marglin, Frederique. 2005. o'Yoni". Encyclopedia of Religion.2nd ed. 14th vol. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA. Baidock, John. 1990. The Elements of Christian Symbolism.Longmead: Elements Books, Ltd. Bailey, Richard N. 1983. "Apotropaic Figures in Milan and North-West England". Folklore, 94,1, pp. 113-117. Banks, Mary M. 1935. "Female Fertility Figures". Man,35. Brendel, Otto. 1944. 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