This article deals with the disclosure of the meaning of the plot of Akeda, which it acquired in the artistic tradition of Judaism in late antiquity. When the Temple was destroyed a new worldview begins to form among the Jews of both the Holy Land and the Diaspora and the synagogue becomes the center of the study of the Scriptures. Synagogues of late antiquity are decorated with frescoes and mosaics on religious themes, and among the plots used in decoration, the plot of Akeda stands out – it is found in direct connection with Aron Kodesh, the repository of the Torah scrolls. Moreover, in artistic interpretations, Akeda’s plot begins to acquire new details, which form a certain part of the symbolic picture of Jewish late antique iconography. In the course of the article, three images of the sacrifice of Isaac in late antique synagogues are described, the features of each image are noted, and then, some features of the artistic interpretation are highlighted on the basis of the literary tradition, as well as concepts in which the artistic and literary interpretations differ. The main unifying motive is the motive of the sacrifice – in each image the ram, which Abraham sacrificed, is especially marked. This motive can be associated with the destroyed Temple and the rituals performed in it. The tradition that the Temple was built exactly in the place of Akeda appeared since by this period. Some motives – for example, “the ashes of Isaac”, willing sacrifice and compensation for the sins of the people by the merits of the fathers – are either not reflected in the artistic tradition, or are completely denied in the artistic representation.
Keywords: synagogue, Dura-Europos, Judaism, Akeda, late antiquity, Bet Alpha
DOI: 10.22250/2072-8662.2021.2.128-135
About the author
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Aleksandra K. Grigoreva – Postgraduate student of the Department of Philosophy of Religion and Religious Studies, Faculty of Philosophy, Lomonosov Moscow State University; |