A BLASPHEMY OF ICONS

“Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in
heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the
earth.”1

The concept that the ultimate deity could not be represented in religious art resonates
through the blasphemy controversies from the time of Moses to the present day.

Biblical myths of the creation of the Golden Calf that was then venerated are
synonymous with the condemned practise of idol worship. Condemnation of the worship
of the Golden Calf is extensive across both the Bible and the Qur’an. It is therefore a
theme that is consistently emphasized by all three of the monotheistic religions of
Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

“And the Lord said unto Moses… ‘They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I
commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and
have sacrificed thereunto,’ and said, ‘These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought
thee out of the land of Egypt.’”2

“The people of the Scripture ask you to cause a book to descend upon them from
heaven. Indeed they asked Musa for even greater than that, when they said: ‘Show us
Allah in public,’ but they were struck with thunderclap and lightning for their wickedness.
Then they worshipped the calf even after clear proofs, evidences, and signs had come
to them.”3

Enforcement of Christianity as the dominant official religion of the empire unleashed a

wave of puritan iconoclasm. The Christian iconoclast zealots believed that the statues,
images and temples were inhabited by the demons of the pagan past. Consequently
their destruction was necessary to enable a new Christian purity to take root.
The iconoclastic destruction of the famed Serapeum in Alexandria occurred in the late
4th century AD as part of the programme of suppression of pagan religions. The
rampaging Christian iconoclasts clearly believed that the statues and even the stones of
the temple itself were “imbued with the devil” as is evident from the description of the
desecration.

“... the columns are broken, the walls knocked down. The gold, the fabrics and precious
marbles are removed from the impious stones imbued with the devil.. The temple, its
priests and the wicked sinners are now vanquished and relegated to the flames of hell,
as the vain superstition and the ancient Serapis are finally destroyed…” 4

The mobs of iconoclastic zealots believed that they were destroying the gods, seen by
them as demons, that resided in the statues. The description of the destruction of the
statue of Serapis blurs the distinction between an animate and inanimate object. The
statue becomes imbued with a life of its own as if it were inhabited by a demon.

“One of the soldiers, better protected by faith than by his weapon, grabs a double-edged
axe, steadies himself and, with all his might, hits the jaw of the old statue. Hitting the
worm-eaten wood, blackened by the sacrificial smoke, many times again, he brings it
down piece by piece, and each is carried to the fire that someone else has already
started, where the dry wood vanishes in flames. The head goes down, then the feet are
hacked, and finally the god’s limbs are ripped from the torso with ropes.” 5

Iconoclast Christian zealots rampaged through Alexandria desecrating all sculptures of

Serapis. According to Rufinus these were “so cut and filed away that not even a trace or
mention of him or any other demon remained anywhere. In their place everyone painted
the sign of the Lord’s cross on doorposts, entrances, windows, walls, and columns.” 6
Ancient pagan religions were seen by the iconoclasts as primitive superstitions that
venerated gods that were now classified as demons. The iconoclastic destruction of
temples as the houses of demons spread across the empire. The Codex Theodosianus
stated: “Let all temples in the countryside be demolished without disturbance or
upheaval. With their overthrow and removal, all material basis for superstition will be
destroyed.”7

The iconoclastic militants “hasten to attack the temples with sticks and stones and bars
of iron, and in some cases, disdaining these, with hands and feet. Then utter desolation
follows, with the stripping of roofs, demolition of walls, the tearing down of statues and
the overthrow of altars, and the priests must either keep quiet or die. After demolishing
one, they scurry to another, and to a third, and trophy is piled on trophy, in contravention
of the law.”8

Biblical prohibitions and conventions against idol worship were further formulated and
defined during the Byzantine iconoclastic crisis. New strictures were imposed on icons
and laws were introduced that governed the depiction of the deity. The Byzantine
iconoclasm controversy ignited in 726 AD when Emperor Leo III tore down the image of
Christ over the Chalke palace gate in Constantinople. The image was replaced with a
cross accompanied by this inscription:

“The Lord God does not allow the fashioning of an image of Christ that is lifeless and
without breath, made of earthly matter despised by the Writings. Leo, together with his
son, the new Constantine, signs the royal portals with the thrice-blessed sign of the
cross, the glory of all believers.”

The basic form of the cross stems from the central point from which it emanates. The
Pythagoreans saw this central point as the emergent creative source. This
conceptualized the primordial state of a world without form and as an undefined void
without the parameters of time or boundaries.
Pythagorean concepts of a geometric point as the creative origin of the universe are
identical to contemporary theories of the universe exploding outwards from a single
point in time and space. From this point flows the intersecting lines that form the cross
and define the first structural form of the cosmos.

These concepts were explained by the Pythagoreans as the confluence of an ‘unlimited’

primordial void that is then ‘limited’ by a geometric point that is then extended into
defining lines. According to Philolaus “nature in the cosmos was fitted together
harmoniously from unlimited things and limiting things, both the cosmos as a whole and
all things within it.”

The Pythagorean formula underlies the creation of all spatial forms as theorized by
Sextus Empiricus. “Some say that body is formed from one point. This point by flowing
produces a line, the line by flowing makes a surface, and this when moved into depth
generates a body in three dimensions.”

The iconoclasm crisis propelled the concept of the pure ideal form of the cross to the
forefront of the religion. A reaction was sparked against the depiction of Christ and the
saints in corrupting sensual colours. In addition the base materials of paint and wood, in
the case of icons, were considered incapable of expressing the spiritual nature of the
religion.

“Condemned be everyone who attempts to capture the likeness of the saints with
material colours in lifeless and mute icons - for such images are of no use. To fashion
them is a nonsensical idea and a devilish invention, taking the place of depicting in
ourselves the virtues of the saints as told in the Writings, and thus becoming ourselves
living icons and being prompted to a zeal similar to theirs.” 9
“Supported by the Holy scriptures and the Fathers, we declared unanimously, in the
name of the Holy Trinity, that there shall be rejected and removed and cursed (from) the
Christian Church every likeness which is made out of any material and colour whatever
by the evil art of painters… If anyone shall endeavour to represent the forms of the
Saints in lifeless pictures with material colours which are of no value (for this notion is
vain and introduced by the devil), and does not rather represent their virtues as living
images in himself, let him be anathema!”10

Iconoclastic arguments were countered by iconophiles such as John of Damascus and

Nicephorus the Patriarch. The basis of the argument deployed by these iconophiles
centred on Christ’s assumption of a mortal human body. This corporeal body placed
Christ outside the undefined immensity of the supreme deity and enabled his depiction
on icons. John of Damascus elaborated the theory that the body of Christ was clothed in
human flesh and could therefore be depicted.

“But when you think of God, who is pure spirit, becoming man for your sake, then you
clothe him in human form. When the invisible becomes visible to the eye, you may then
draw his form. When he who is pure spirit, immeasurable in the boundlessness of his
own nature, existing as God, takes on the form of a servant and a body of flesh, then
you may draw his likeness, and show it to anyone who is willing to contemplate it.” 11

To deny the phenomenon of Christ’s mortal nature before his death on the cross was to
deny the meaning of the crucifixion and resurrection. The concept of the Transfiguration
likewise revealed Christ clothed in a human form.

“Depict his coming down, his virgin birth, his baptism in the Jordan, his transfiguration
on Mt Tabor, his all-powerful sufferings, his death and miracles, the proofs of his deity,
the deeds he performed in the flesh through divine power, his saving Cross, his grave,
his resurrection and his ascent into heaven. Give to it all the endurance of engraving
and colour.”12
After the crucifixion Christ again appeared in human form. His resurrection is the central
tenet of the faith and is consequently reflected in the icons that depict a face that is both
human and immortal. The face of Christ after the Transfiguration became imbued with
an immortal light that is expressed by the light reflected from the golden icons.

“And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them
up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and his face did
shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.” 13

Parallel to the Judeo-Christian iconoclasm crisis, and informed by many of these

precepts, the emerging Islamic religion cleansed the pagan shrine at Mecca of images
and artefacts that reflected the pre-Islamic faiths worshipped there. In 630 AD the
Prophet Muhammad threw out the idols and images or icons that were contained in the
Kaaba. This act, which is at the core of Islamic iconoclasm, is recorded by the hadith.

“Narrated Ibn Abbas: When Allah’s Apostle arrived in Mecca, he refused to enter the
Ka’ba while there were idols in it. So he ordered that they be taken out. The pictures of
Abraham and Ishmael, holding arrows of divination in their hands, were carried out. The
Prophet said, ‘May Allah ruin them for they knew very well that they never drew lots by
these.’ Then the Prophet entered the Ka’ba and said ‘Allahu Akbar’ in all directions and
came out and did not offer any prayer therein.” 14

The example set by Muhammad in cleansing the idols from the Kaaba has generated
new acts of iconoclastic destruction in the present. Islamic State (ISIS) has destroyed
iconic sculptures and historic artefacts in the archaeological museum in Mosul and at
the sites of the ancient cities of Nineveh and Nimrud.

A video released to the media shows Islamic State militants using sledgehammers and
power drills to destroy cultural icons including three gigantic Assyrian winged beasts
that had guarded the gates of Nineveh. The released video statement explained their
motivation and clearly placed the acts of destruction within the historic context of
iconoclasm.

“Oh Muslims, the remains you see behind me are the idols of peoples of previous
centuries, which were worshipped instead of Allah. The Assyrians, Akkadians, and
others took for themselves gods of rain, of agriculture, and of war, and worshipped them
along with Allah, and tried to appease them with all kinds of sacrifices. The Prophet
Muhammad commanded us to shatter and destroy these statues. This is what his
companions did later on when they conquered lands. Since Allah commanded us to
shatter and destroy these statues, idols, and remains, it is easy for us to obey and we
do not care, even if this costs billions of dollars.”

The video referred to Qur’an 21:58 (“He broke them all into pieces”) in the subtitles:

“Long ago We bestowed right judgement on Abraham and We knew him well. He said to
his father and his people, ‘What are these images to which you are so devoted?’ They
replied, ‘We found our fathers worshipping them.’ He said, ‘You and your fathers have
clearly gone astray’... He said, ‘Listen! Your true Lord is the heavens and the earth, He
who created them, and I am a witness to this. By God I shall certainly outwit your idols
as soon as you have turned your backs!’ He broke them all into pieces…” 15

Icons that were thrown out of the Kaaba were in a different category to the Black Stone
which, as a meteorite, reflected the image of the stars and is consistent with the
invocation that “Your true Lord is the heavens and the earth, He who created them…”
An influential Persian text, the ‘Dabistan,’ relates that “they also say that among the
images and statues left in the Kaaba by Mahabad and his renowned successors, one is
the Black Stone, the emblem of Saturn. They also say the prophet of Arabia worshipped
the seven planets, and he therefore left undisturbed the Black Stone or Saturn’s
emblem, which had remained since the time of the Abadian dynasty; but that he broke
or carried away the other figures introduced by the Kuraish, and which were not formed
according to the images of the stars.”
All three of the monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam share traceable
roots to a shared Semitic heritage. Tacitus draws parallels between the worship of the
Jewish deity and that of Saturn and equates the two deities. “Others maintain that they
do this in honour of Saturn, either because their religious principles are derived from the
Idaei, who are supposed to have been driven out with Saturn and become the ancestors
of the Jewish people; or else because, of the seven stars which govern the lives of men,
the star of Saturn moves in the topmost orbit and exercises the mightiest influence, and
also because most of the heavenly bodies move round their course in multitudes of
seven. Whatever their origin, these rites are sanctioned by their antiquity.” 16

According to Tacitus, in reference to Judaism, prohibitions against idols and icons

reflected the belief in an eternal inimitable god. This concept could not be represented
by the depiction of the human face or figure. “They think it impious to make images of
gods in human shape out of perishable materials. Their god is almighty and eternal,
inimitable and without end. They therefore set up no statues in their temples, nor even
in their cities, refusing this homage to their kings and this honour to the Roman
emperors.”17

Archaic Semitic concepts can be perceived in the iconoclastic controversies that have
characterized all three religions. A black stone that appears to have been a meteorite
was venerated in the temple in Emesa. This meteorite, the baetyl of El-Gabal, was in
the shape of a cone indicating the quest for pure forms as spiritual icons. ‘Baetyl’
derives from the Semitic languages and literally means the ‘house of god.’ The pure
conical shape of the meteorite was a form that came from the stars and was
uncontaminated by the base materials of paint and wood.

“No statue made by man in the likeness of the god stands in the temple, as in Greek
and Roman temples, the temple does, however, contain a huge black stone with a
pointed end and round base in the shape of a cone. The Phoenicians solemnly maintain
that this stone came from Zeus; pointing out certain small figures in relief, they assert
that it is an unwraught image of the sun, for naturally this is what they wish to see.” 18

Around the time of the later Babylonian renaissance the cuneiform sign for the heavens
or a deity had evolved from a star-based symbol into a simple cuneiform cross. The
cuneiform cross tended to accompany references to each of the pantheon of gods
including the supreme archetypal Mesoptamian deity Anu. This was the deity that was
associated with the Orion constellation, being titled the true shepherd of Orion. Within
the constellation is the trinity that forms the asterism of Orion’s Belt, arguably the most
recognizable asterism in the night sky.

A straight line drawn from Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, passes through the
three stars of Orion’s Belt and extends to the Hyades cluster at the point where the V
shaped horns of the Taurus bull emerge. A line is then drawn intersecting this at right
angles through the centre of the Orion’s Belt stars. This line from Rigel to Betelgeuse,
the two brightest stars in the Orion Constellation, can be extended to Castor thus
forming a perfect right-angled cross in the heavens that connects four constellations
with its epicentre at the stellar trinity of Orion’s Belt.

Here can be perceived the outlines of an ancient religion that preceded Judaism,
Christianity and Islam but still influences the prohibitions against depictions of deities in
corrupt anthropomorphic forms. The icons were formed from base corrupt matter
whereas the cross exemplified the idealized pure geometric form that was consistent
with symbolizing the creator deity. The purest form of this cross was the one that could
be drawn in the stars and it was the Chaldean priests of Babylon that were pre-eminent
in the subdivision of the heavens.

The new religion of the human god that was nailed to the cross on the terrestrial plane
reflected the symbolic purity of the cross formed of stars in the heavens. The “thrice-
blessed” cross that was erected over the Chalke gate in Constantinople, and
inaugurated the Byzantine iconoclasm crisis, symbolizes the stellar trinity of the Orion’s
Belt asterism.

“The Lord God does not allow the fashioning of an image of Christ that is lifeless and
without breath, made of earthly matter despised by the Writings. Leo, together with his
son, the new Constantine, signs the royal portals with the thrice-blessed sign of the
cross, the glory of all believers.”

These prohibitions relate back to the worship of the Golden Calf that is extensively
condemned in both the Bible and the Qur’an. Millennia later the vengeance of the
supreme deity is witnessed by the riots that accompany the blasphemy controversies of
the present.

“Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure,
the likeness of male or female, The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the
likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air, The likeness of any thing that creapeth
on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth: And lest
thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and
the stars, even all the host of heaven, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath
divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.” 19

1. Deuteronomy 5:8
2. Exodus 32:7-8
3. Qur'an 4:153
4. Tyrannius Rufinus - Historia Ecclesiastica 2.23
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid. 11.29
7. Codex Theodosianus 16.12
8. Letter of Libanius to Emperor Theodosius - 386 AD
9. Iconoclastic Synod of 754 AD
10. Epitome of the Definition of the Iconoclastic Conciliabulum - 754 AD
11. John of Damascus - Heresies
12. Ibid.
13. Matthew 17:1-2
14. Muhammad al-Bukhari - Sahih al-Bukhari 5.59.584
15. Qur'an 21:58
16. Tacitus - Histories 5.4-5
17. Ibid. 5.5
18. Herodian - History of the Roman Empire 5.3
19. Deuteronomy 4:16-19