0162ANCIENTApollo_ChristusHelios

Gallery
Ovid Met.

Christus Apollo vault mosaic, AD 3rd century, Grotte, St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican

ML ed. 8 color plate 2

Byzantine mosaic of a winged figure (angel or Cupid) riding a chariot, with vine leaves and tendrils on a golden background

Christ has acquired the attributes of Apollo as Sun god. The vault mosaic is in a Christian tomb within the necropolis that was enclosed in the basements of the St. Peter' basilica complex. The cruciform arrangement of the sun's radiance makes the association with Jesus unmistakable.

In iconographical development from Hesiod to the Christian era, Helios has yielded to Apollo, who has in turn now yielded to Christ.

OGCMA slides are designed by Roger T. Macfarlane for use in Classical Civilization 241 courses at Brigham Young University.
The present resource contains information assembled for The Oxford Guide to Classical Mythology in the Arts, 1400 – 1990’s, edited by J. Davidson Reid (Oxford 1994), and it is used with express permission from Oxford University Press.
Address concerns or inquiries to macfarlane@byu.edu.