International congress of byzantine studies belgrade, 22 27 august 2016

Svetlana Smolčić Makuljević
Metropolitan University Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia; 
[e-mail]
Type and Archetype of the Holy Mounts in the Byzantine Balkans
The holy mounts of the Byzantine world are constructed on territories which visually memorize 
significant Christian events, life of holy people and energy of the sacred place. Monasteries, 
parakklesions, monks’ hermitages, memorial spots, holy springs, pilgrimage roads and icons on 
rocks, define the network of sacred topography and visual culture of Christian holy mounts.
The archetype of Christian holy mounts can be seen in judaistic and ancient holy mounts, as 
well as in the experience of ancient Slavic people. One of the significant models of Byzantine holy 

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mounts established on the archetype example is Mount Sinai. The paper will consider the relation 
and typology of holy mounts in the Byzantine world established on the archetype of Sinai and 
dispersion of this model in the frame of Orthodox culture in the Balkans and region of Serbia, 
Montenegro, Bulgaria and Albania. The typology of holy mounts depends on different types of 
religious life. Holy mounts are formed in the sacred landscape of nearby cities, mountains or in the 
vicinity of lakes and seas.
Addressing questions such as the identity of those who create and have impact on the 
visualization of holy mounts, this paper explores the relationship between the Christian visual 
concept and folk religiosity, superstition and magic.
Čedomila Marinković
Belgrade, Serbia; 
[e-mail]
The Iconography of the Temple in Jewish art: Type or Archetype?
In the history of Jewish art the Temple iconography appears already in 1 c. C.E. on the coins from 
the time of Bar Kohba revolt. From that time on the imagery of the Temple continue to reappear in 
different context in Jewish art from frescos in Dura Europos, trough floor mosaic of the early Galilee 
synagogues to the catacombs of Rome. During Middle Ages representations of the Temple can be 
found in the illuminated manuscripts, especially in the Haggadot. Some of the question raised by 
this paper will be: was the Jewish representation of the Temple the one that shaped all the later 
representations of the Temple, especially in Byzantine art? Are there any differences between the 
Temple representation in Sephardic and Ashkenazi visual imagery? Are the Temple representations 
narrative or symbolic and what layers of meaning they are conveying?
The case study for my paper will be the representation of the Temple in Sarajevo Haggada.