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The Shepherd of Sheep, The Shepherd of Souls: Funereal Iconography of the Good Shepherd And Christianization of Hermes Psychopompos

dc.creatorNations-Quiroz, Julia Christine
dc.date.accessioned2020-08-24T11:48:51Z
dc.date.available2020-11-20
dc.date.issued2015-03-24
dc.identifier.urihttps://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/etd-03232015-124615
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1803/15386
dc.description.abstractThis thesis project is concerned with the funereal iconography of the Good Shepherd. In this thesis I reinterpret the meaning and significance of this prolific image used within early Christian communities as related to identity formation. Instead of looking exclusively to early Church fathers and early Christian written sources to glean meaning from this image, I use Greco-Roman comparanda and textual sources to analyze the imbued meaning. Ultimately this thesis concludes that the image of the Good Shepherd employs traditional Greco-Roman iconographic elements in order to convey to viewers specific beliefs, such as the belief in the necessity of a soul-bearer to carry a soul from the mortal life to the immortal, celestial life. This reinterpretation is crucial to fully understanding early Christian identity, as it was fundamentally concerned with life after death.
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.subjecticonography
dc.subjectEarly Christian art
dc.subjectcatacomb
dc.subjectfunereal iconography
dc.subjectChristian identity formation
dc.titleThe Shepherd of Sheep, The Shepherd of Souls: Funereal Iconography of the Good Shepherd And Christianization of Hermes Psychopompos
dc.typethesis
dc.contributor.committeeMemberRobin Jensen
dc.contributor.committeeMemberDavid Michelson
dc.type.materialtext
thesis.degree.nameMA
thesis.degree.levelthesis
thesis.degree.disciplineReligion
thesis.degree.grantorVanderbilt University
local.embargo.terms2020-11-20
local.embargo.lift2020-11-20


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