The Latin word orans literally means “prayer.” However, in terms of iconography, scholars utilize the term orant (or orante) to refer to the image of a praying person. The emphasis on featuring a person in the prayer position is not uncommon in non-Christian texts, even examples that predate the beginnings of Christian iconography. Virgil most notably highlights the dutiful piety of Aeneas in the Aeneid, particularly in Book 6 as he t…