"Pray Not to Fall into Temptation and Be on Your Guard": Pagan Statues in Christian Constantinople

Abstract

This article discusses Byzantine attitudes to classical art as seen through Byzantine writings about statues. It takes issue with ideas about Byzantine "superstition," "credulity" and intentionalism in art, and the belief that the Byzantines found classical statues threatening and dangerous. Rather, it suggests that we should try to understand Byzantine texts in Byzantine terms (insofar as that might be possible). It argues that classical statues in Byzantium were, like Christian images, an essential source of power that could be employed to their own advantage by those with the knowledge of the correct procedures.