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Probable origin of the Early Christian Iconography of Jonah under the Gourd Vine scene
https://doi.org/10.28995/2686-7249-2019-1-1-59-69
Abstract
This study attempts to trace the origin of the iconography of an Early Christian scene, Jonah under the Gourd Vine, which used to be a most popular subject in the centuries III—IV AD. According to many scholars, the prophet's iconography derived from pagan scenes such as Endimion's dream. In the meantime, this convincing hypothesis does not explain the origin of the second sine qua non iconographic element of the episode — a gourd vine entwining a pergola. The El-Wardian paintings have been loosely dated from III BC through IV AD, but the study argues for the first century BC as its most likely date. The entrance of the gourd vine motif into the scene can be traced to the Greek translation of the Bible — the Septuagint, which was made in III BC, in Alexandria. The Jewish Bible refers to another plant. Thus the first mention in Early Christian texts, the first depictions of the gourd vine and the iconographic type of a male figure reclining under the gourd vine all came from Alexandria. It seems justified to suggest pagan Alexandrian funerary art as a probable source for the Early Christian iconography of Jonah under the gourd vine.
About the Author
V. Z. KuvatovaRussian Federation
Valeria Z. Kuvatova
bld. 12, Rozhdestvenka st., Moscow, 107031
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Supplementary files
For citation: Kuvatova V.Z. Probable origin of the Early Christian Iconography of Jonah under the Gourd Vine scene. RSUH/RGGU Bulletin: “Literary Teory. Linguistics. Cultural Studies”, Series. 2019;(1-1):59-69. https://doi.org/10.28995/2686-7249-2019-1-1-59-69
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