On the allegedly manicheic funerary..., N. Proeva. In. ANTE PORTAM AUREAM STUDIA, 2017, pp. 178- (original) (raw)

2017, .) Ante portam auream, studia in honorem professoris Aleksandar Jovanović,

The so-called Tikvesh funerary stelae (N. Proeva), rather than stelae of the Kavadarci type (N. Vulić), are concentrated mainly in the Tikvesh region, and not only in Kavadarci, but are spread alongside the mid-stream of the Axius (Vardar). These stelae are the only ones in Roman Macedonia, with iconography that is not figural, but features motifs that are vegetal (the evergreen tree, leaves of ivy and wine, poppies, pinecones) and astral (stars, crescent) as well as agricultural tools (a wine reaping hook, a pickaxe). The motifs, presented in a more or less stylized manner, are found in the relief field, as well as on the pediments of the stelae. There are different and contradicting interpretations promoted to date, regarding the iconography of the stelae, the latest of which is based on Manicheans dogma. This opinion is unacceptable because the author has not looked at it as a unique iconographic pattern but had analyzed the motifs separately, completely ignoring the epigraphic elements (onomastic, paleography, etc.). The dating of these stelae to late Antiquity is also not supported. Contrary to this approach, by analyzing all the epigraphic and iconographic elements of this unusual iconography within the socioeconomic , religious and cultural milieu which it was created, the conclusion can be reached that the iconography concerns heroization, not only of the deceased, but also of their ancestors, along with the belief in immortality, expressed in a original way, typical of the local population.