The Connection Between Abraham and Hades’s Bosom in the Context of the Last Judgment Scene

Abstract

One of the most important topics of Christianity is the Last Judgment. The Byzantines, as a Christian society, showed great interest to this subject and produced many pieces of art depicting it. This scene consists of several themes coming together. Among the most important themes of the scene is Abraham and Hades’s Bosom. Using these themes, the artists have kept the event alive in the minds of people about what will happen in the afterlife. While Abraham’s Bosom is depicted to the right of Jesus as the area where those who found salvation are located, Hades’s Bosom is located on his left side and those, who will face their punishment are seen there. The artists depicted the scenes in connection with each other. However, there is an important difference here. While Abraham’s Bosom is an intermediate form for those who will attain salvation, Hades’s Bosom has been the part of eternal fire. To make the picture more dramatic and remarkable, the painter depicted the lake of fire with the dragon of Hades swallowing the dead. Thus, the viewer can now clearly see what kind of suffering human beings will face in afterlife. The artists created a contrast between the two themes by using many permeable structures and transferred this to the paintings.