An Icon Illustrating a Greek Hymn

Author(s): More Adey

Source: The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs, Vol. 34, No. 191 (Feb., 1919), pp. 44-
47+50-52+55
Published by: Burlington Magazine Publications Ltd.
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AN ICON ILLUSTRATING A GREEK HYMN
BY MORE ADEY
HE icon reproduced here was bought
by the present owner, Mr. C. J. Hope-
Johnstone, in the Island of Scio, dur-
ing 1917, while he was on service for
the Foreign Office. It was supposed
to have come from a church in the island of
Santorin (Thera), a provenance which there seems
to have been no reason why the vendor should
have invented. The picture is composed of one
solid block of wood, 224"x I5J", and ij" thick. The
back is not planed smooth, but chipped fairly
even with a chisel or other handled tool. The
ornamental moulding is undercut to about *",
and the openwork is attached to the back-
ground by ties under the rosettes. The whole
surface was gilded, and the original gold remains
almost untouched over the picture. The mould-
ing, however, has mostly been covered with
a poor modern substitute, otherwise, as may be
seen in the illustration opposite, it is almost
intact. The date, and indeed the provenance--
since the island of Santorin is merely not unlikely
-is very difficult to determine in the present
vague knowledge of Orthodox ecclesiastical art
on this side of Europe. Mr. Roger Fry and
Dr. Tancred Borenius do not see anything in the
moulding incompatible with Italian work of the late
17th century, and I think that they agree with me
that there are strong signs of Italian influence in
the lines and pose of the figures and the treatment
of the drapery. The greater freedom and realism
of an Italian artist is visible in almost every
subject, especially perhaps in the single figure of
the Virgin [A] representing the act of her con-
ception overshadowed by the power of God. [See
the larger illustration, p. 47.] The colour scheme
is very pleasing, suggesting at a bird's-eye view the
subdued richness of a mosaic or of a small-
patterned oriental carpet. The colours used
are almost exclusively blue, red, black and white
on the gold background, all toned intentionally,
and probably further mellowed by time. The
blue is of a shade between indigo and prussian,
and not of that dead green caused by the scrap-
ing off of ultramarine. The red is vermilion,
which still appears in the letters of the Greek
alphabet which mark the scenes, as is explained
further on. Most of these, now faint in the
original, disappear in the reproductions on the
natural scale [pp. 47, 50]; some of them seem to
have been renewed on the painting itself.
The subject of the painting has, I think, been
definitely fixed by Miss Carthew, who is well
versed in the Orthodox liturgies. That the
composite picture represents a series of scenes
devoted to Christ, or the Virgin, or both together,
THE BrILINGTON MAGAZINE, No. 191. Vod. XXXIV--Februar7 1919 D 45
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and not to the legend of any saint, is quite evident.
We immediately recognise The Visitation [E],
Nativity [H], Journey of the Magi [0], Adoration
of the Magi [I], Flight into Egypt [A], Presentation
in the Temple [M], and Christ teaching the Doctors
[N]. Three of the others can be guessed, though
the subjects are not very common in the West,
The Interview of Joseph with the Virgin (Matth. I, 19)
[Z]', and The return of the Magi to their own
Country [K]. But we are puzzled why The Annun-
ciation should appear three times in the top row
[A, B, P], since we cannot possibly interpret either
of the scenes as the Annunciation at the Fountain
derived from the Gospel of pseudo-Matthew. Nor
does western iconography give us any clue at
all to the meaning of most of the scenes from
[N] to [U]. Miss Carthew's theory explains them.
She has recognised that the series is inter-
preted in precise order by the verses of the
alphabetical hymn called 'O 'AKd0to-Tos Ylrvos. The
Akathist hymn is dated at about 6oo, but there is
no clue to the writer. It is sung in the Orthodox
Church on Fridays during the season of Lent.
All, officiants, assistants, choir and people stand
throughout the singing of the hymn, in remem-
brance of the celebration of a victory (c. 626) gained
by Heraclius's troops over Chosroes's, when the
whole assembly stood throughout the night
singing the praises of the Virgin 2. Hence the
derivation
whereat noneof the name
shall is d-KaiGOTt-the
sit. As may be seen hymnon
pp. 46, 51, it consists of 24 short passages begin-
ning with the Greek characters in alphabetical
order3. As Miss Carthew has pointed out to me,
the alternate verses beginning with the first
[A, P, E] are followed by a series of twelve
Xarpc, arranged antiphonally, all addressed to
the Virgin under different similitudes, with a
(Continued on p. 52.)
Here Joseph seems to be touching the Virgin with a rod.
2 Dr. Montague James, Provost of Eton, has kindly sent me
the following note from Suicei's Thesaurus Ecclesiasticus:
""Y'Lvor i&cLaOTo est hymnus sacer qui hebdomade quinta quadra-
gesimae sabbato in matutinis in honorem B. Virginis canitur.
Triodium : vi,&wi ipa (sc. sabbato 5ae hebdomadae) sv eFC4,LrTov
i;,voov iop7c oFLev Tjirepay, Oeo76cov. Origo nominis, ut recte
C1. Meursius in Glosario suo observat, a victoria, quam Heraclii
tempore adversus Chosroae legatum obtinuerunt; ob quam
impetratam, totam noctem stantes hymnum in honorem B.
Virginis decantabant. Loca ex Triodio apud Meursium
exstant : unde etiam petenda".
3 Veneration for the letters of the alphabet was, of course,
general further east, and much earlier than the founding of
Constantinople. Instances might be multiplied of its survival
and spread westward, both in secular verse and in Catholic
liturgies and ceremonial. It is sufficient to note how a bishop
still traces with the butt of his staff in ashes laid for the pur-
pose saltire-wise on the floor of a church for consecration, the
Greek and Latin alphabets uniting at their intersection in the
common letter M.
Italianate-Greek icon with carved moulding, probably representing the Akathist Hymn, and said to
have come from a church in the Island of Santorin (Thera). Extreme measurements, 22" Xx I53 "
painting i63 x 8" (Mr. Charles Johnstone Hope-Johnstone)

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46
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A An angel of the first quire was sent from heaven, to say
to the Mother of God the " Hail Mary" ; and behold-
ing Thee, 0 Lord, taking upon Thee corporeal sub-
stance, he was astonished, and stood crying to her with
incorporeal voice, saying : "Hail . . .
B The holy one, beholding herself in chastity, spake
boldly to Gabriel: "The riddle of thy words seemeth
incomprehensible by my mind; how speakest thou of
generation by seedless conception, crying "Alleluia "?
r Seeking to know knowledge unknowable, the Virgin
cried to the ministrant: " How is it possible for a son
to be born from virgin bowels? Tell thou me ". To
whom he spake in fear, yet crying thus: " Hail
A The Power of the Highest straightway overshadowed
her that knew not man, unto conception, and revealed
her womb of fair fruit as a fertile field for all that
would reap salvation, singing " Alleluia ".
E Bearing God in her womb, the Virgin hastened to
Elizabeth, whose babe, straightway, recognising her
salutation, rejoiced and with leaping as with singing
cried to the Mother of God " Hail . . .
Z Virtuous Joseph, distressed within by doubting
thoughts, was troubled, beholding thee a maiden, and
suspecting thee, 0 blameless Virgin, of a stolen wed-
lock ; but having learned from thee of thy conception
by the Holy Spirit, he said, " Alleluia".
H The angels praised the coming of Christ in the flesh,
and the shepherds heard; and running as to a shep-
herd, they behold Him as a spotless lamb, pastured in
Mary's womb, and give praise to her, saying " Hail ...
0 The Magi contemplated the star that foreran God, and
followed in its light, and holding to it as to a beacon,
sought thereby a mighty king; and having approached
the Inapproachable, they rejoiced and cried to Him
"Alleluia ".
I The sons of the Chaldeans saw in theVirgin's hands Him
Who fashioned man with the hand, and knowing Him
to be the Master, although He wore the image of a
servant, hastened to honour Him with gifts, and cried
to the blessed among women " Hail . .
K The Magi, having become harbingers of God, returned
to Babylon, and, accomplishing Thine oracle, pro-
claimed Thee, O Christ, to all men, and abandoned
Herod for one devoid of sense that knew not how to
sing "Alleluia ".
A Thou didst light in Egypt the lamp of truth, and didst
cast out the darkness of deceit; for the idols thereof
fell, enduring not Thy might, O Saviour; and they
that were saved from them cried out to the Mother
of God, "Hail . .
M To Simeon, ready to depart from the present age of
guile, Thou wast delivered, an Infant, but wast revealed
to him as Perfect God; wherefore he was amazed at
Thine Ineffable Wisdom, and cried, "Alleluia ".
 A B P A
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N The Creator showed to us, the creatures made by Him,
a new creation; He sprouting from an unseeded womb
and preserving it unstained as it was; in order that
we should extol it, beholding the marvel, crying
"Hail . . .
Z When we behold the strange Birth, let us become
strangers to the world, transferring our minds to
heaven; for to this end High God appeared upon the
earth-humble man, willing to draw up on high them
who cry to Him " Alleluia ".
O The Incircumscribed Word was wholly with them that
are below and in no wise absent from Them that are
above; for the condescension was divine, and was not
change of place; and the birth was from a virgin pos-
sessed of God, and she heard these words, " Hail . ..
HI All the generation of angels was amazed at the great
work of Thine Incarnation; for they saw Him Who is
inapproachable as God, Man approachable by all,
dwelling among us and hearing from all "Allelaia ".
'P We see the orators, the men of many words, dumb as
fish before thee, O Virgin; for they know not how to
answer the question, " How remainest thou a virgin and
yet didst avail to bear a son ? " But we, amazed at the
mystery, cry out in faith, " Hail . .
2 Willing to save the universe, the Disposer of all came
for its sake, His Self-sent Messenger, and being, as
God, our Shepherd, for our sake He appeared in our
likeness as Man, for, like calling to Like, He hears,
being God, " Alleluia ".
T Thou, O Virgin, Mother of God, art a wall to virgins
and to all them that flee to thee; for the Maker of
heaven and earth prepared thee, immaculate, and
dwelt in thy womb and taught all to call on thee,
"Hail . . .
Y Every hymn fails that strives to attain the multitude of
Thy many mercies, for if we offer Thee, O Holy King,
odes innumerable as the sand, yet is our labour in
no wise worthy of the gifts that Thou hast given
to us who cry to Thee, "Alleluia ".
Pi We see the holy Virgin, a shining beacon, appearing
to them that sit in darkness; for she kindled the
Immaterial Light, and leads all to divine knowledge,
enlightening the mind with radiance, honoured by the
cry, "Hail . . .
X The Redeemer of all men's debts, purposing to give
grace from the ancient penalties, did of His Own Self
dwell among them who had ceased to dwell in His
grace, and having rent the handwriting, He hears from
all, "Alleluia ".
Pr Singing of thy Babe, we all raise hymns to thee, Mother
of God, as a living temple, for the Lord Who holds all
things in His Hand, dwelt in thy womb, and hallowed
and glorified thee, and taught all to cry to thee,
"Hail
2 All-praised Mother, who didst bear the Most Holy
Word of all the Holy, receive our present offering, and
deliver us all from all evil; and redeem from future
chastisement those who cry together, "Alleluia '.
5'
final, unvarying, i3th, X apE, N /uI , Qiv EvrE, which
is repeated by the choir after the priest 4. The
even verses [B, A, Z], and so on, end with the
single "Alleluia ". The Xoapc are omitted here for
want of space, and because they throw little or no
light on the precise significance of the individual
scenes of the icon. The hymn may be described
in the less unfamiliar western terms rather as a
series of "farced proses " than a poem in the
modern sense of the word "hymn", since it is
without metre and depends for its effect on
assonance and antithesis 5.
The series is reproduced a trifle larger than the
original on pp. 47 and 5o, and the hymn with
an English version compiled for iconographical
purposes is printed on the opposite pages6. On
comparing the text with the illustrations it
will be seen that they correspond precisely.
Some of the letters of the Greek alphabet have
disappeared from the icon itself, though more are
legible on it than appear in the reproductions. A
few, I think, were originally omitted from lack of
a suitable place for them in the composition, for
the X and 0 are very plainly visible at the foot
of the scenes immediately above those to which
they belong [see foot of 1 and Y]. But the point
is that no scene appears out of the order of the
hymn. The three Annunciation scenes, all within
doors, follow the three first verses of the hymn.
The fourth represents the doctrine of the Virginal
Conception, also according with the hymn. The
more theological and devotional and the less
historical the poet's subject becomes, the more
difficult it naturally becomes to express in a
"Imaterial art", and the more difficult for the
critic to interpret, especially since the charac-
teristics are still on a low plane of realism.
Thanks to Miss Carthew, with whom I generally
agree, a good deal may be distinguished in no
way divergent from the hymn, and in many cases
plainly referring to it, as follows :
N Christ, the new offspring of virginity, at the
4To quote Miss Carthew again: "Apostrophes of this kind
to the Virgin occur in early Coptic manuscripts. In The Book
of the Resurrection of Christ by Bartholomew the Apostle, which
may have been put together in the 2nd century, and was almost
certainly not written later than the 4th century, a series of
' Hails' very similar to these in the Akathist hymn is to be
found, but in this case they are addressed by Christ to the
Virgin after His Resurrection. Hence we may conclude that
this form of hymn was in use at a very early date ".
a But in the Xalpe, the antithesis and assonance are still
more marked than in the proses, and some final rhymes occur ;
e.g., XaZpe, Povj aoppjio, v1TS' XCL;pe, -ytj CeoUvoWv ,iOIrL,
and Xalpe, Tb, ~,v 'AyyAhov roAuvpdAAvrov Oaa* Xa~tpe, i'b ,&v
Satpovcov ,roAvprjv rov pta.. (Ist andto
4th xaZpe the
of r).
6 This pedestrian version, made explain scenes before
us, is entirely based on another in MS. made for the more
serious purpose of devotional use, and now in course of pub-
lication. Otherwise I could not have supplied one in the time
available nor perhaps at all, owing to long neglect of Greek
grammar. I have also to thank again Dr. Montague James for
many corrections and suggestions; and Mr. Lionel Cust for
others,
52
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age of twelve years, laying the first foundations of
the new creation in the minds of the doctors in
the Temple.
Z Neither Miss Carthew nor I can suggest
any specific meaning in this scene. Either the
painter failed to formalise the verse, or he refers
to some special legend or icon which I do not
know. 4 can be seen even in the reproduction
near the left-hand corner of the top margin.
0 Christ-Man within the vesica of the Virgin,
among men below in the presence of the Trinity
above, without change of locality. 0, appears
quite plainly in the same position as E.
II Christ-Man adored by Angels. In the
painting itself cherubim are visible below the
throne and the figures beside it are winged.
'P The orators dumbfounded hold their
speeches rolled tight in their hands. If they
were delivering them the rolls would appear in
falling scrolls. The 'P is just above the head of
the seated Virgin.
2 Miss Carthew is inclined to see in this scene
a Harrowing of Hell, as the staff in the hand of
Christ bears the resurrection banner. If so the
nimbused figures represent Patriarchs. I think
the artist, possibly not very well instructed in the
text, has confused the two forms of staff. The
V in the middle of the lower edge belongs to the
scene below.
T The centre figure represents, not Christ, but
the Virgin, and behind her is a front wall with
two diagonal side walls in attempted perspective,
not so clear in the reproduction as in the painting
itself.
Y This evidently represents a venerated pic-
ture of Christ supported by the ecclesiastical and
lay dignitaries. Miss Carthew suggests with great
probability that the picture is the celebrated icon
referred to below. The W- again belongs to the
scene below.
,D The object on the right, which occupies half
the space, appears plainly in the painting as a
beacon, which is broken by the painter into an
irregular silhouette in order to enable him to
include those that sit in darkness. To the
modern eye they seem to be sitting inside the
beacon as in a cavern. The 0 appears midway
between the Virgin's head and the beacon.
X Christ the Redeemer stands tearing assunder
the bill of costs; Adam and Eve, apparently, sit
below in the darkness of ancient transgression
watching the redemption of their race.
SIn the foreground kneels the author of the
hymn, drawn on a very small scale, offering his
work, as the mouthpiece of all conditions of men,
standing behind him, to Christ, and to the Virgin
as the living temple of God, symbolised by the
building in the centre of the scene.
0 The celebration of a venerated icon (cf. Y),
in this instance of the Virgin and Child. As
already noted, the - appears in scene [Y] imme-
diately above.
Y, z Miss Carthew's theory is further justified
by the tradition that the Akathist hymn was sung
on three occasions in Constantinople when the
city was attacked, and the enemy was put to
flight by its spiritual power. On the first of
these occasions the " icon of Christ not made by
hands " (6 dx1tpo7rob7ro, r0o Xpro-ovo idKv) was carried
in the procession by the Patriarch, and on the
third occasion the icon of the Mother of God,
the patron of the city, by the people themselves.
Therefore the icons being venerated in scenes Y
and 0 are, as we may reasonably assume, intended
by the painter to represent these.
A point which needs further explanation is a
word on the scroll held by the angel on the left
hand of the Virgin and Child in the tympanum of
the picture. One would suppose that it might
stand for the eucharistic " Gloria in excelsis " or
the Angelic Salutation, but it is illegible. All that
can be said is that it appears to be written in
Sclavonic, and not Greek, characters, evidence
which would direct us to the northern rather than
the southern parts of the Peninsula. The par-
ticular design of the Virgin and Child, which
seems to me to be derived from a plastic model,
may also point to a Uniate miraculous image, like
most others, Byzantine in style, rather than to an
Orthodox icon ". The other objects in the tym-
panum-the ladder, the temple or palace, the
lamp, the lily, the rose, and the altar-of-incense or
7 The hymn is as Catholic as it is Orthodox, though not used
in western Catholic churches.
RECENT ACQUISITIONS FOR PUBLIC COLLECTIONS--VII
BY ARTHUR WALEY
A SKETCH FROM TUN-HUANG--BRITISH
MUSEUM, PRINT ROOM, STEIN COLLEC-
TION
HE lively drawing here reproduced
belongs to the portion of the Stein
collection recently allotted to the
Print Room. It is executed with a
coarse brush in black ink, with a few
touches of red (e.g. on the camel's saddle-cloth)
and green (e.g. behind the horse's saddle-cloth) on
a roll of thick yellowish paper measuring 2 ft. 9? in.
by I ft. At the right-hand end of the roll, behind
the camel's tail, is the torn edge of another sheet
of drawing.
The paper used by the artist had already been
scribbled upon. The irregular lines of Chinese
writing on this side of the paper are passages
copied out, perhaps as a writing exercise, from the
document which occupies the other side
This document, dated 966 A.D., records Buddhist
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table of shew-bread, for such they seem to be,
are emblems of the Virgin common in both Greek
and Latin writers. I was inclined to see in
scene a two ladders slanting towards each other
below the antependium in front of the icon of the
Virgin and Child, and to suggest connection with
the earlier and widespread devotional method
rendered famous by S. John Climacus, but Miss
Carthew does not think that the method persisted
among the orthodox so late as the icon, and that
the objects, if intended for ladders at all, are
merely represented as ordinary emblems of the
Virgin, as " the ladder whereby God descended to
earth and man ascends to heaven "'. But such
iconographic guesses might be carried to a
wearisome extent. Enough has been said to
increase the literary interest of this very attractive
devotional decoration, and perhaps to lead to
more precise study of Orthodox art, the legitimate
if impoverished heir of the Byzantine.
Another icon, which from its description seems
also to illustrate the Akathist hymn, was brought
to this country from Russia some years ago, and
has apparently been taken back there more
recently. On this perhaps further information
will be available. From a trustworthy account
it was composed of a Virgin and Child on a larger
scale in the centre, surrounded by twenty-four
scenes similar to those illustrated here.
8 Cf. an interpolation found in some prayer-books after [E]--
ir HfaAAiTov, roV L^vov U8a4i7Ai.' XaZpe Gp'veir p 6pvc iou Ildroicprropo--
and--'P6ov ib &pjivPov, xa1pe q6vr paaor~ra. I quote from a
modern book published in Constantinople in z886.
9 Cf. xaZpe,
6 OeC6r the third paireriaovsoa
yivvpa of xaZpe, r, XLp,
TbvV iC njSAyj,pat
sirprovpaite,
ofpavoy, SV' iFicr Iat,
benefactions of the Controller of the "Restore-
the-Right " Army (kuei-i-chiin), Ts'ao Ytian-chung
and his wife, the Lady Chai of Hsuin-yang. The,
couple spent a month's religious retreat in the
Caves of the Thousand Buddhas at T'un '-huang.
The Controller (who was also " specially promoted
Inspector, Grand Master, President of the Council
and Great King of T'o-hsi ") spent this summer
holiday in copying out the Saitra of Buddha's
names. Subsequently he and his wife restored
the decayed substructure of a colossal statue of
Maitreya Buddha, the lady Chai "preparing food
for the workmen with her own hands".
Since the scribbled lines of writing on top of
which the drawing was made are stray sentences
copied from this document, it follows that the
drawing cannot be earlier than the document.
Probably it is of about the same date.
1The commentator on the Hanr Annals insists upon the
aspirate.
55