Abstract

Although a comparison between Orthodox icons and geographic maps sounds like an extravagant idea, if we set them in a broader context, we will see that they are actually akin. Both, the Orthodox εικών and the medieval mappamundi are symbolic images that represent cosmological concepts, showing the essence and character of the Universe in images. They enable people to overcome their natural limitations and see what is invisible to their eyes.

Highlights

  • Resumen: Aunque una comparación entre los iconos ortodoxos y los mapas geográficos parece una idea extravagante, si los situamos en un contexto más amplio, veremos que son realmente semejantes

  • Abstract: a comparison between Orthodox icons and geographic maps sounds like an extravagant idea, if we set them in a broader context, we will see that they are akin

  • Orthodox iconography serves as an elaborated expression of the Orthodox religious doctrine, as a symbolic manifestation of the truths of faith.[3]

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Summary

Iconography and Cartography

Comparison of Orthodox icons with geographic maps sounds odd, to say the least. Scarcely any images seem diametrically so opposite at first glance, when we speak in terms of their functionality, and their origins and semantics. Geographic maps are products of human rational knowledge, but they are visual representations of the Earth’s surface, subservient to the rules of different sciences. The image is contrived, he says, to lead man to knowledge, and to reveal in front of him different phenomena that otherwise remain hidden.[5] A bit later St. Theodore the Studite compares icons with “windows to heaven” and defines them as means of ascension to the transcendent.[6] In a similar way Renaissance geographers describe their maps as “windows on the theater of the world”, helping people to see what remains invisible to the eyes. Rostislava TODOROVA, Icons as Maps: Cartographic icons in Orthodox art often portrayed with recognizable architectural and topographic elements that enhance the theological significance of the sacred event, which is represented.[9]

Cartographic icons of biblical places
Cartographic icons of Pan-Orthodox monastic centers
Cartographic icons of miraculous icons
Cartographic icons of local Orthodox shrines
Εικών and Mappamundi
Conclusions
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