Byzantine Reflections

I thought it was really interesting how Megan talked about the three phases of art during the Byzantine period. The first phase was the Roman, which makes sense since Constantinople and the beginnings of the Byzantine Empire were founded by a Roman emperor and Roman people. The second phase, as Megan described it was Islamic and the third was focused on this place being a spiritual center for its time. I found it very interesting how she picked up of the different phases and it helps to understand different things that happened during this time period based on their art.

I also found Melanie's blog very interesting. I really liked how she discussed the difference between Early Christian and Byzantine time periods. The two are very closely related and I thought she summed it up perfectly when she said Early Christian was more of a movement and Byzantine was a period of time. She also talked about how the Hagia Sophia was turned into a mosque after the Ottoman's conquered the Byzantine Empire. It goes to show that so much changes throughout time as different people from different religions inhabit different areas. It is similar to how once Christianity took hold in Rome the Pantheon was changed into a church, whereas here when Islam takes hold a Christian church is turned into a mosque.