religious art and symbolism and how to understand Byzantines
through their art. This is a beautifully produced documentary with
chilling music and amazing filming on-site in numerous old
Byzantine churches and towns.
This documentary describes the story of origins and development
of Christian symbolism, how is grew out of pagan ideas of religious
art and how precious holy images were to Byzantines. This
narrative is richly told by the use of several stories, from the last
prophecy of the oracle of Delphi, to the story of how the Byzantine
Empress Pulcheria redefined how Byzantines viewed Mary,
women in general and government. How after Pulcheria Byzantines
saw Mary as the Mother of God and the imperial family as God's
regents on earth. The film also does an excellent job at describing
the miraculous character of sacred art by mentioning the
Acheropita or images not made by human hands.
In his narrative, Romer does an excellent job at explaining why,
when imperial armies lost battles and the empire suffered, many
Byzantines turned against their holy images. In telling the story of
iconoclasm, Romer explains how we can learn about the past
through art, architecture and archeology. Though he stresses that
during the iconoclastic era, the imperial desire for luck could not
stop popular devotion to the holy images.
Above all, this documentary gives the viewer a glimpse into the
rich meaning that the Byzantines associated with their icons, the
cosmic, timeless character of Byzantine iconography. Simply put,
this documentary tells the story of Byzantine religion, which guided
the Byzantine way of life.