Hermes as the Good Shepherd, Pagan art reinterpreted
[i] Early Christian art was influenced by early Christian theology, which was influenced by Jewish and other pre-Christian theology. Images of God were not permitted in the Jewish tradition. Exodus 20:3 says “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.” Other bits of scripture show that the Jews did make images to adorn their temple, but no attempt to portray their God went unpunished.
The earliest Christians inherited this iconoclastic mindset and focused more on what Jesus did rather than what Jesus looked like. They lived in the time and place where images mattered and idol worship was commonplace. Early Christian Art says:
“According to Clement of Alexandria, God had created only one image, his Son. Of this Son there can be only living images, Christians, who grow to resemble him by their virtues.”[ii]
Pagan culture was full of images, so Pagans who converted to Christianity had been exposed to art and images. Some Pagans probably had the art in their homes. This art became imbedded with new meaning after conversion.[iii]
While some pagan art was retranslated into other Christian ideals earlier, this section will look exclusively at Hermes, who became the Good Shepherd in early Christian reinterpretation. The Good Shepherd image is popular as it occured at least 100 times in the catacombs.[iv] Evidence for early use of the shepherd can be found in Tertullian’s De pudic where he criticizes Catholics for using cups that depicted Hermes and for emphasizing the parable of the good shepherd in their teachings.[v] Even this image though, was seen and reproduced primarily as a symbol of salvation, not as an exact representation of Jesus Christ.
“…In whatever way Jesus and his companions are depicted in the fourth-century catacomb paintings or sarcophagus reliefs, they appear more as actors in a scene than as pure portrait types. Their faces are not revealed as the visages of holy persons, and the iconography s not intended for veneration. These figures are inseparable from their specific narrative compositions, which are meant to teach or reveal some meaning found in the details of the story itself …in these earlier images Jesus’ face is more often in partial profile than facing forward…”[vi]
What else can we learn about early Christian worship and practice through looking at early Christian art, more specifically, Hermes as the Good Shepherd? By analyzing the image, we see that Jesus is depicted without a beard and with curly brown hair. This depiction of Jesus as beautiful and young ties in to pagan theology, where pagan gods are viewed as symbols of immortality and are therefore depicted as young and handsome. [vii]This pagan theology link also shows that the surrounding culture was aware of Jesus as a parallel to other Greek hero gods.
Early Christian artists depicted Jesus in such a way to put him in competition with the surrounding culture and doing so meant less emphasis on things that will matter later. Early depictions of Jesus (like the Roman Sarcophagi) show Jesus as doing miraculous acts like raising Lazarus from the dead. This is mimicking depictions of the Greek hero gods (particularly Hercules), which do the same thing. The culture was concerned with this display of action vs. personhood because this action showed the power of Jesus and his earthly work. [viii] They were less concerned with whether Jesus should be portrayed as human or divine.
Jesus portrayed as a shepherd in early Christian art can also be an attempt to reference the gospel of John’s use of Logos. The author of John began the book by saying “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”[ix] Later in the book, Jesus makes the pronouncement of ““I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.”[x] He also says a few verses later “I am the good shepherd; and I know my sheep, and am known by my own.”[xi] In this case, the lamb represents humans and human nature.[xii]
Jim Forest in Beholding the Glory also had something to say in regard to early Christian art like that of Hermes and others found in the catacombs. “The catacombs bear witness that wherever Christians prayed, they sought to create a visual environment that reminded them of the Kingdom of God and helped them to pray.”[xiii] Jensen wrote something similar when she mentioned that images at that time were created not to be worshiped, but to educate and serve as reminders of the faith. Syndicus even wrote that the earliest Christian paintings were paintings of prayers.[xiv]
In conclusion, early Christian art was influenced by pre-Christian theology. Jesus was often depicted as handsome and young, with curly hair and without a beard after the style of the Greek gods. Jesus is also frequently depicted doing miracles and otherwise displaying his power similar to the Greek god Hercules. The early representations of Jesus focus less on what Jesus may or may not have looked like and were more interested in what Jesus did and what his personality was like. The early representations of Jesus also show us that early artists wanted to create space for prayer and remind followers of their faith. Finally, the image of the good shepherd could also be an attempt to represent the Jesus from the gospel of John.
[i] (image) The Good Shepherd, mosaic, 425-450 AD. Ravenna: Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Italy. “The Patristic Age.” http://goo.gl/uqQRi(Accessed June 5, 2012).
[ii] Eduard. Syndicus, Early Christian Art, trans. J. R. Foster (New York: Hawthorn Books, 1962), 9.
[v] Eduard. Syndicus, Early Christian Art, trans. J. R. Foster (New York: Hawthorn Books, 1962), 11.
[vi] Robin Margaret Jensen, Face to Face (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2005), 151.
[vii] Eduard. Syndicus, Early Christian Art, trans. J. R. Foster (New York: Hawthorn Books, 1962), 23.
[viii] Robin Margaret Jensen, Face to Face (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2005), 153.
[ix] John 1:1 KJV
[x] John 10:11
[xi] John 10:14
[xii] Eduard. Syndicus, Early Christian Art, trans. J. R. Foster (New York: Hawthorn Books, 1962), 22-3.
[xiii] Jim Forest, “Through Icons: Word and Image Together,” In Beholding the Glory, edited by Jeremy Begbie, 83-97 (Grand Rapids: Baker Book Housing Company, 2000), 86.
Images of Jesus 