Katana VentraIP

Cult image

In the practice of religion, a cult image is a human-made object that is venerated or worshipped for the deity, spirit or daemon that it embodies or represents. In several traditions, including the ancient religions of Egypt, Greece and Rome, and modern Hinduism, cult images in a temple may undergo a daily routine of being washed, dressed, and having food left for them. Processions outside the temple on special feast days are often a feature. Religious images cover a wider range of all types of images made with a religious purpose, subject, or connection. In many contexts "cult image" specifically means the most important image in a temple, kept in an inner space, as opposed to what may be many other images decorating the temple.

The term idol is an image or representation of a god used as an object of worship,[1][2][3] while idolatry is the worship of a "idol" as though it were God.[4][5][6]

The Hindu goddess Durga

The Hindu goddess Durga

Guatimac, a Guanche idol

Altar in Chinese temple

Altar in Chinese temple

Maximón, a Maya god

Maximón, a Maya god

Brazilian Crucifix

Brazilian Crucifix

Andachtsbilder

Antinous Mondragone

Asherah

Cult (religion)

Devotional medal

Fetishism

Holy card

Honzon

Icon

Iconoclasm

Madonna and Child

Prana pratishta

Puja

Religious image

Dick, Michael Brennan, ed. (1999). Born in Heaven, Made on Earth: The Making of the Cult Image in the Ancient Near East. Eisenbrauns.  1-57506-024-8.

ISBN

Hill, Marsha (2007). . New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN 9781588392312.

Gifts for the gods: images from Egyptian temples

Hundley, Michael B. (2013). Gods in Dwellings: Temples and Divine Presence in the Ancient Near East. Society of Biblical Literature.  978-1589839205.

ISBN

Walls, Neal H., ed. (2005). Cult Image and Divine Representation in the Ancient Near East. American Schools of Oriental Research.  0897570685.

ISBN