In contrast to this dissertation, many studies use the term “iconography” in discussions of ancient art deemed religious. Unlike the word “temple” this term does not necessarily imply religious meaning, but like the popular term for certain buildings deemed religious, “iconography” seems to presuppose understanding for the sake of identification. The term is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as “[the] description or illustration of any subject by means of drawings or figures; any book or work in which this is done; also, the branch of knowledge which deals with the representation of persons or objects by any application of the arts of design.”¹ This appears to suggest that iconographic art is, by definition, representational. With regard to ancient art, it is difficult to comprehend the likelihood of meaning in order to claim that an image is particularly rich in symbolic representational meaning in design. Setting aside the issue of identifying the thing(s) to which a particular image refers, unless all ancient art is considered to be potentially iconographic, the assumption that one can discern which images are representational, and which are not, can be problematic.

In Intangible Spirits and Graven Image, Shenkar suggests a differentiation between the “content, symbolism, and context” of a given image.² He refers to Erwin Panofsky’s three-level approach: “Pre-iconographical description” (concerning the “Primary or natural subject matter…world of artistic motifs”), “Iconographical analysis” (concerning the “Secondary or conventional subject matter…world of images, stories and allegories”), and “Iconological interpretation…(Iconographical synthesis)” (concerning “Intrinsic meaning or content…world of ‘symbolical’ values”).³ Although Panofsky’s suggested levels are not so clearly differentiated from one another, his separation of the “pre-iconographical description” from forms of interpretation aimed at describing referent and (or) meaning behind the image is useful to the present investigation.⁴ In order to avoid mis-interpreting the art under consideration in this chapter, this discussion will privilege information available with regard to the content and context of each piece, while carefully observing that any variety of potential symbolic meanings are possible for a work of ancient art.