But
what did he really look like, as a man living in Judaea in
the 1st century? This subject has long been of interest. It is worth
emphasizing that images of Jesus over time give us clues on how Jesus was
imagined in different environments, but say absolutely nothing about what he
really looked like. Our images of Jesus were largely created in the Byzantine
era (4th-6th centuries). Byzantine images of Jesus were based on the image of a
Graeco-Roman deity, for example the famous statue of Olympian Zeus by Phidias
in the 4th century BCE.
As
time went on the sun god’s halo was also added to Jesus’s head to show his
heavenly nature. The winged victory in the hands of Olympian Zeus was replaced
with gesture of blessing, with the Bible held in Jesus’s hand instead of a
spear. This iconography of Jesus with long hair, a beard and a halo comes from
the 4th century onwards, with Jesus sitting on a heavenly throne, like Olympian
Zeus, as cosmic judge of the world: the Alpha and Omega, beginning and end
(Revelation 21:5-6, and 22:13).
But
at the time of Jesus long tunics were usually worn by women, not men. The
earliest extant images of Jesus in Roman catacomb paintings show him as a
teacher/philosopher or magus (wonder-worker, with a wand), dressed in the
common clothing of the time for a man: a knee length (essentially sleeveless)
tunic (chitōn) and a long mantle (himation). He is also
beardless and short-haired.
See
pictures and read complete article at -- http://www.asor.org/anetoday/2018/03/Jesus-Look-Like
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