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[German Version] The seven-branched candelabrum (Candlestick/Candelabrum: I) including base, shaft, and branches with cups and lamps belonged to the furnishings of the tabernacle and was made of pure gold ¶ (Exod 25:31–40; 37:17–24); it was set up in the temple (II, 4.b) of Solomon in Jerusalem, along with ten copper candlesticks (1 Kgs 7:49), and in addition to the one set up by Moses ( Pr.Man. 98b). The menorah w…

[German Version] The emergence of the synagogue as an institution and structure was the result of a long process of transformation within Judaism. After the destruction of the Jerusalem temple (II, 4) in 70 ce, temple sacrifice was replaced by a religious life grounded in prayer (XI, 1). This communal prayer required a suitable space where the community could assemble during worship (II, 3), which now centered on a reading from the Torah. This new understanding of worship represented a critical turning point for Judaism: the synagogue liturgy (VII) became the only authorized religious observance and has remained so to this day. The architectural layout of the synagogue, a large assembly hall for the …

[German Version] I. Jewish Catacombs – II. Christian Catacombs I. Jewish Catacombs 1. In the Second Temple period, Jerusalem was surrounded by an important necropolis composed of both monumental tombs with decorated facades and simple graves; most of them lay to the east, south and north of the city, in the Qidron valley, between the Temple Mount and the Mount of Olives. The earliest is the tomb of the “Bene Chesir,” attributed to the 1st century bce. A Hebrew inscription on the architrave identifies the memorial as “tomb and nefesh” (literally, “soul,” indicating dedication to …

[English Version] I. Mythologisch Die Erzählungen von O. spiegeln Entstehung und Ablehnung einer rel. Bewegung der griech. Archaik: Ein Prinz aus Thrakien in Nordgriechenland begeistert als Künstler; die psychagogische und entzückende Macht der Musik (Ekstase) wird erzählt in der Unterweltsfahrt: Die Gattin des O., Eurydike, stirbt. Um sie wiederzugewinnen, steigt O. in den Hades. Es gelingt ihm, durch die Musik Steine zu erweichen und die unerbittlichen Totengötter umzustimmen, daß sie seine verst…

[German Version] I. Mythology – II. Art I. Mythology The stories of Orpheus reflect the emergence and rejection of a religious movement in Archaic Greece: a prince from Thrace in northern Greece enchants everyone with his artistry; the psychagogic and ecstatic power of music (Ecstasy) is recalled in a journey to the netherworld. Eurydice, the wife of Orpheus, dies; to win her back, he descends into Hades. Through his music, he charms even the rocks and persuades the implacable gods of the dead to release his …

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[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Archaeology – III. Iconography and the Bible – IV. Christian Iconography – V. Jewish Iconography – VI. Islamic Iconography – VII. Buddhist Iconography – VIII. Hindu Iconography I. Religious Studies Iconography (Gk εἰκονογραϕία/ eikonographía) originally meant the description of images (Arist. Poet. XV; Strabo XV 1.19), but nowadays is used to refer to the methodical study of images. Where scholars distinguish between iconography, iconology , and …

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[German Version] I. Religious Studies Use of the Greek word σύμβολον/ sýmbolon in a sense relevant to religious studies is attested quite early in the history of European religions; Dio of Prusa (1st/2nd cent. ce), for example, used it in his speech on Phidias’s statue of Zeus in Olympia ( Oratio 12.59). In this context, the Greek term reflects the problem posed by images of the gods: what is intrinsically inaccessible to human vision (Vision/Intuition) is somehow to be represented visually. In religious studies, especially i…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies, Systematics – II. Academic Research Disciplines – III. History – IV. Christian Theology I. Religious Studies, Systematics …