Marienikone

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A Marian icon is an image of saints from the Byzantine and Eastern Church areas with a representation of the Blessed Mother Mary. Representations of the Blessed Mother, usually with the Christ Child on her arm, are the most common motif of icon painting. Three gold stars adorn the Maphorion with which she is clothed, one on her forehead and one on her shoulders; They symbolize the virginity of Mary before, during and after birth.

Iconographic types
There are about 400 different icons of the Blessed Mother. Originally, there were mainly three different iconographies:
the Hodegetria, the guide (Aristerokratusa, with child on the left arm)
Blacherniotissa or interceding, praying Madonna
Nikopoia (the “victory”; also: o Nikopea, Nikopeia, Nicopeia)

Variants of Hodegetria (Aristerokratusa) are:
Hodegetria Dexiokratusa (with child on right arm)
Tricheirousa (“Three Hands”)

Variants of Blacherniotissa are:
Platytera (the More Comprehensive, Other)
Panagia (the All Saints)

Important iconographic types with numerous mixed types and variants are by type of presentation:
He is the merciful, the merciful, the merciful.
Glycophilusa (tender, sweet kissing; partly synonymous with Elëusa)
The Kyriotissa (Mother of the Lord)
The Psychosostria (savior of the soul)
the Galactotrophousa (Mary lactans; breastfeeding Mary, who is usually depicted as a semifigure)
Paraclesis (representation of Mary without child; as an attribute she holds a scroll)
Pelagonitissa (Representation of Mary with a Playing Child Jesus)
In addition, there are smaller types such as e.g. the Madonna, or the icons named after certain places or monasteries.

The Maphorion, a veil of the head and shoulders, is an integral part of the Christian iconography of Mary, especially in the Maryicons of the Eastern Churches. Here he is often decorated with three golden stars, each on his forehead and shoulders; They are interpreted as a symbol of the virginity of Mary before, at and after birth.

Well-known icons

Pre-iconoclastic Marienicons at Sinai
Some pre-iconoclastic marionicons from the 5th to 7th century. In the 20th century, there are in the collection of the Catherine Monastery on the Sinai, which have still been painted encaustic. One of them is to be attributed to the icon type of the Blessed Mother as Nikopoia (the victorious one), which here, however, additionally bears the nickname “hope of all”.

Ancient Marienicons in Rome
The oldest Marian icon in Rome is Maria Advocata, painted in encaustic technique, whose origin is suspected in the Syrian region of the 6th century or earlier. In Santa Francesca Romana in Rome, there is a marital icon attributed to the 7th century.

An ancient Marieicon, painted by the evangelist Luke, was probably like many other icons in the course of the 8th century. Century before the Bilderstu