Abel, shepherd son of Adam, and Melchizedek, a Canaanite priest-king, flank a central altar as they offer sacrifices of a lamb and a loaf of bread to God: 6th century AD Byzantine mosaic in the sanctuary of the Basilica di San Vitale, founded in 547 AD at Ravenna, Emilia Romagna, Italy. The city is renowned as Western Europe’s greatest centre for the study of Byzantine art and architecture.
Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy: the biblical figures Abel (left), the shepherd second son of Adam, and Melchizedek (right), a Canaanite priest-king revered by Abraham, hold up sacrificial offering of a lamp and a loaf of bread to God as they stand on either side of a central altar. This 6th century AD Byzantine mosaic fills the southern lunette in the sanctuary of the Basilica di San Vitale, founded in 547 AD. The artwork is among those created during the centuries when Ravenna was under the control of Constantinople (former Byzantium), capital of the Byzantine or Eastern Roman Empire. It remained under Byzantine rule until 751 AD, and the legacy of those years now makes it Western Europe’s greatest centre for the study of Byzantine art and architecture.
Size: 4288px × 2848px
Location: Basilica di San Vitale, Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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