A post-Byzantine creation: The archangel Michael triumphant and psychopomp

This paper deals with a specific iconographic type of Archangel Michael: he is shown bearing a soul in the form of a swaddled infant, while subduing an old man who is wearing only a loincloth. Who is Michael subduing? Three possible answers are considered: 1) the figure can be identified with Satan the fallen angel who, like Michael, has an immaterial nature and is commonly considered as his enemy par excellence; 2) he can also be an anonymous sinner, whose soul is depicted in Michael's hand; 3) finally, one could identify him with Hades, the god of the Underworld and personification of death, because he is depicted as an old man, semi-nude with a pronounced musculature, as well as because of the assimilation of Michael to God. Rather than making a single choice, the author proposes a combined interpretation of the image, which allows for the integration of all the aspects of Michael's cult (military, triumph over Satan, psychopomp, archangel of the Last Judgment) and unifies the past (the fall of Satan), the present (death of a sinner) and the future (Last Judgment).

Abstract licence: CC BY

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