Iconoclasm

Iconoclasm is a “war against Icons.” Those who engage in iconoclasm are called iconoclasts.

Iconoclasts believe that all religious icons are idols, or “graven images,” and therefore forbidden in the Bible. This belief is based on the Ten Commandments of the Bible, which forbids the making, veneration, and worshipping of “graven images, or any likeness of anything that is in Heaven above, or in the Earth below, or the water under the Earth.” (Exodus 20:4-5, Deuteronomy 5:8-9).

There were two iconoclastic periods, or iconoclasms, in the Byzantine Empire, from 726 to 787 AD and 814 to 842 AD, during which the emperors were iconoclasts. During these periods, there was widespread destruction of religious images and persecution of the supporters of the veneration of images.

Iconoclasm dramatically affected these periods’ art, with all depictions of humans, animals, and other living things being destroyed or plastered over, then painted over with geometric designs, stars, diamonds, and crosses. An example of iconoclastic art can be seen in the Hagia Irene church in Istanbul, which has only a simple cross in its apse.

After the Iconoclastic periods, most affected churches and other buildings were painted again, and the magnificent frescoes we see today are still present.