Naxos: A rare fresco of the Virgin Mary, dating before the time of iconoclasm, has been found

A rare fresco of the Virgin Mary dating before the time of Iconoclasm (726-842 AD), was recently discovered in a Byzantine Church in Naxos, behind layers of lime that covered it.

The unveiling was made by the Ephorate of Antiquities of the Cyclades, while its head Mr. Dimitris Athanasoulis, among others, said in a post on social media: “Naxos has the privilege of preserving frescoes of unique importance, which were created before the time of the great iconoclasm. A typical example of this rare and moving art is the Virgin Mary in the photograph that has just been brought to light by the Ephorate of Antiquities of Cyclades, behind the layers of lime that covered it.”

The unveiling was also commented on by the archaeologist and Honorary Superintendent of Antiquities, Ms. Angeliki Kottaridi, who in a related post said: “The pre-iconoclastic Virgin Mary of Naxos has just appeared, and Dimitris Athanasoulis had the extraordinary generosity to show it to us! And I can’t bear not to compare her with the beloved Virgin Mary of Sinai!…. how close the two are! Although I can’t see the colours and the whole form correctly, it looks to me like they are repeating the same archetypal face!…. And of course they both draw from the same sources.

Despite the prevalence of Christianity as monotheistic, the Eastern Roman Empire, until the time of iconoclasm at least, seems to be walking the familiar roads of the Hellenistic World which did not die with Cleopatra the Great at all! It seems that the time is slowly coming to take off the ideological glasses and re-read in the light of the increasing number of finds the fascinating era we call “late antiquity”… Thank you very much Dimitris!”.