Reliquary of St. Demetrios
Type:
Reliquaries
Date:
1059–67
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
Greece
Medium:
Gilt-silver
Dimensions:
15 × 11.5 cm
Description:
This reliquary commemorates a saint who was martyred in Thessaloniki around 306. It also features Nestor and Loupos, two military saints who may have been disciples of Demetrios; Constantine X Doukas (r. 1059–67) being crowned by Christ; and Constantine's wife Eudokia Makrembolitissa (d. 1096). The inscription gives the object a voice: "I am an accurate image of the ciborium of the lance-pierced martyr Demetrios." The ciborium in question was at Hagios Demetrios in Thessaloniki, the principal site of the saint's veneration even after the ciborium disappeared.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
6
Image Credits:
Wikimedia Commons, Genevra Kornbluth
