Jewish and Early Christian Art in Late Antiquity
Dura Europus
As noted previously, by the period of the late empire,
We will begin by examining Jewish and Christian art
from Dura Europos. Located in what is now Syria, many different traditions came through
this city:
Persian
Babylonians
Roman
Christian
Jewish
Synagogue at Dura Europos (now
In 1920-21, the British Army was in
Originally, this was a house. At some point, it was converted to a Jewish
synagogue.
At first, scholars were surprised because these paintings seem to
contradict the Second Commandment of the Bible prohibiting the making of graven
images. Now, it is believed that these
images were not directly worshiped, but were used to tell biblical
stories.
This is not a fresco. Rather, these images were created using tempera paints (egg-based paint) on plasters. The walls were divided into three registers, picking up on Roman tradition:
upper
white washed
middle
figures in narrative scenes
lower
faux marbling
Christian community church at Dura Europos, Syria, ca. 240-256
This Christian community church was really just a
home. Is a special room for baptism with
mural paintings. However, these
paintings are in very poor condition. But, the most important thing is that it
was a house. All the painting was on the
inside there was no advertising, per se.
Likewise, this was how Christians throughout the empire practiced their
religion within private houses. This stands in stark contrast to the grand
temples erected for the pagan gods.
Of course, during this period, Christians were
persecuted. They would continue to be persecuted until the Edict of Milan
issued by Constantine in 313.
Your book notes that Christian communities were small in number and that it a sect that attracted the most impoverished segment of society because of the promise of the afterlife was made to those who were rich and poor. However, modern day scholars have found that this is an oversimplification. There were a variety of social levels not those at the very top, but not the agricultural slaves either.