Is Cross Always Christian? A Study on Iconography of Sasanian Seals

Is Cross Always Christian? A Study on Iconography of Sasanian SealsCogent Arts & HumanitiesSyriaca.org: The Syriac Reference PortalThe National Endowment for the HumanitiesThe International Balzan Prize FoundationDavid A. Michelsoncbsc_adminRecord added to Zotero bycbsc_adminSyriaca.org: The Syriac Reference Portalhttp://syriaca.org/cbss/ATXJ2LAL/tei

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2024-08-15-04:00

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CREATED: This bibl record was autogenerated from a Zotero record.KatarzynaMaksymiukPatrykSkupniewiczAnitaSmykIs Cross Always Christian? A Study on Iconography of Sasanian Sealshttp://syriaca.org/cbss/ATXJ2LALhttps://www.zotero.org/groups/a_comprehensive_bibliography_on_syriac_studies/items/ATXJ2LALhttps://www.zotero.org/groups/4861694/items/ATXJ2LALCogent Arts & Humanities8:120211-15The article analyses the semiotics of religious symbols appearing on selected Sasanian seals. The core of the research are the seals on which a cross and a scorpion are depicted together. The authors tackle the two research hypotheses concerning the interpretation of the iconography of these seals. The first (by Rika Gyselen) is the identification of the seals as Christian seals. The second (by Abolala Soudavar) attributes the seals to Mithraism. Drawing on available visual and written sources, the authors’ study examines the symbolism of the scorpion and of the cross in the religious doctrines of Christianity, Zoroastrianism and Mithraism. The authors conclude that since the crosses are depicted in the company of scorpions, the content cannot be neither Christian nor Zoroastrian. The current authors suggest that the seals with scorpions and crosses must belong to Iranian Mithraism; however, their argumentation is based on the grounds radically different from those proposed by Soudavar. Maksymiuk, Katarzyna, Patryk Skupniewicz, and Anita Smyk. “Is Cross Always Christian? A Study on Iconography of Sasanian Seals.” Cogent Arts & Humanities 8:1 (2021): 1–15. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2021.1956729. Katarzyna Maksymiuk, Patryk Skupniewicz, and Anita Smyk, Is Cross Always Christian? A Study on Iconography of Sasanian Seals, Cogent Arts & Humanities 8:1 (2021): 1–15, https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2021.1956729.IV-VII CEIranSyriac influence [Persia]Zoroastrianismarchaeologycrossiconographyseals