'Holy Rider' Magical Amulets from Late Antiquity and Early Byzantium
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| Year of publication | 2022 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | On apotropaic amulets of Late Antiquity and Early Byzantine Period (ca. 4th–7th cent. CE), mostly of Syro-Palestinian provenance, we often encounter the image of the so-called 'Holy Rider', a mounted warrior, identified usually as Solomon or St Sisinnios, who is depicted in the moment of neutralizing a female demon by trampling her under the hooves of his horse and/or piercing her with a spear. I focus primarily on the imagery of the Holy Rider on protective wearables (ie, magical gems, pendants, medallions, and armbands) and consider the development of the motif, the identification of the rider and the demon, as well as inscriptions and other iconographical features that usually accompany the imagery of the Holy Rider. |
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