Lions And Owls: A Thematic Analysis

I will be discussing the themes and functions of three images of female deities from three different cultures, the culture/religion that they represent, the function they have served, and how women are represented, and those are, Venus of Dolní Věstonice, the Yakshi bracket figure, and the Innana/Ishtar with Lions and Owls. With regards to the Venus of Dolní Věstonice, it is a sculpture molded of clay and bone ash and is 11.5 cm high and 4.3cm from its widest point, the pelvis, and it is located in in the Czech province of Moravia. According to the lecture notes, it was made approximately 26,000 years ago, when in the warmer time period of the last ice age Moravia was established by bundles of hunters and gatherers, and created Gravettian,

For instance, one of the very first images of Christ is one called, Christ as Sol Invictus, which was represented in a mosaic in the Mausoleum of the Julii in Rome, Italy, in the late third century; there one can see the rays of sun, coming from Christ’s head, that later because represented as a halo, which symbolizes, divinity. In this image, one can see the aspects of Christ as a Sun God. Later in time, in the early fourth century, also in Rome, Italy; Christ is represented as The Good Shepherd, in a painted ceiling of a cubiculum in the Catacomb of Saint Peter and Saint Marcellinus. In this image one sees Christ in very simple terms, as a shepherd, to acknowledge those poorer people. However, in Ravenna, Italy, ca. 425, one also sees Christ, as the Good Shepherd, painted in a mosaic in the form of a lunette, from the entrance wall of the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia. In this more developed image, one can see Christ with, his no longer the rays of sun, but the halo itself, with a gold robe and a purple scarf which is a traditional characteristic that symbolizes one is from royal status. In this image, one can also see a realistically moderate face, CHrist with flowing hair and garments and sits comfortably in a very lash landscape, Christ looks naturalistic, however there is a

For example, an image from the fifth century, a.d., one sees a well established type of Buddha, with curled hair, and a topknot, which symbolizes his enlightenment because he has more brain than the rest of us, his face is calm looking, his ears are elongated due to the fact that he was a prince and wore very heavy earrings, which weighed down his ears, in this image, Buddha is not naked, but wearing a very light garment. Then, in 40 BCE, one is introduced to a standing Buddha, no fear gesture, eyes closed and very heavily clothed compares to the previous Buddha. In this image, one can really notice the urna/third eye and the ushnisha/ topknot. And finally, in the last image, a 34 meter high bronze statue of Buddha (1993), outside Hong Kong, in a basic sitting position, with his legs crossed, both feet over thighs. Overall, the main difference between the developments of Christ and the Buddha, is that Christ images developed according to time period, according to the painter, and the bible, and the Buddha representations developed according to the position of the Buddha, and the position depended on where the Buddha image would be located, and what was going on