idol

The title of this article is ambiguous. Further meanings are listed under Idol (disambiguation) .

Idol from the Extremadura region , Spain (height 19 cm, 3rd millennium BC, Museo Arqueológico Nacional de España , Madrid )

The term idol (from the Latin idolum from the Greek  εἴδωλον , actually "image, image", especially "illusion") is used in theology, religious studies, philosophy and archeology in a variety of meanings.

In common parlance, a person is referred to as an "idol" in the sense of a role model that is met with great admiration.

In Judeo-Christian theology, it refers in particular to “ pagan ” cult images and the “ idols ” they venerate and thus always has negative connotations in biblical and ecclesiastical usage. In religious studies and archeology, the term analogously, but neutral in value, denotes an image that represents a deity and is itself worshiped as a sacred or magical object. More recently, "Idol" is in these disciplines as a technical term but used only for abstract or-schematic cult objects while imaging representations rather the term idol be taken.

The word idol only appeared in German in the 18th century and gradually replaced the older, clearly negative terms idol and idol . The worship of idols is called idolatry ("idolatry", "idolatry").

Subject-specific meanings

theology

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philosophy

In post-ancient philosophy, the concept of the idol was mainly taken up by Francis Bacon and became the starting point for a full-fledged "doctrine of idols ", which he presented in his Novum Organum in 1620 . Bacon defines idols as the "false concepts that have already taken possession of the human mind and are deeply rooted in it".

archeology

Female Cycladic idol with crossed arms (marble, height approx. 89 cm; around 2500 BC, National Archaeological Museum , Athens )

In the archaeological context, the term idol describes, on the one hand, demonstrably religiously determined sculptures and cult images. The definitions from the theological subject area can be adopted here.

On the other hand, the term was transferred to all abstract anthropomorphic figures that cannot be classified differently. Johann Joachim Winckelmann applied the term for the first time in the middle of the 18th century to all sculptures of human figures in which a cultic or ritual function could be assumed. In the middle of the 19th century, this use of the term became generally accepted in the German-speaking area. In prehistory and early history , this use is generally accepted for pictorial works, so that the term is applied to all human representations, including schematic and abstract.

Idols in this broad sense are found in various cultures from Anatolia to the Germanic region. They have been documented since the Upper Palaeolithic and show a wide distribution in the Bronze Age . The shapes are very diverse, from naturalistic figures to lush female forms to abstracts such as the board idols or only hinted at body features. The material of preserved idols consists of bone or wood, clay or stone. The predominantly marble Cycladic idols from the Aegean from the late Neolithic period are considered artistic highlights .

Their use is largely unclear. They are found both in ritual dumping and as grave goods , in sanctuaries and in domestic contexts. The original assumption that it was always images of gods has now been refuted by the variety of find situations. Therefore, the use of the religious connotation term “idol” for these objects is rejected by some German-speaking archaeologists, they prefer neutral terms such as “figure”. In the English-speaking world, figurine has always been used .

Picture gallery

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  Hittite bird head idol made of clay, 4.8 cm high, 2000 to 1500 BC Chr.

• 

  female terracotta idol with child, 1550–1200 BC BC, archaeol. Larnaka Museum

See also

• Statue menhir
• Japanese idol
• Korean idol
• Idol of Pomos
• Idol with a bird face

literature

• Torsten Capelle : Anthropomorphic wooden idols in Central and Northern Europe. Almquist & Wiksell International, Stockholm 1995, ISBN 91-22-01705-4 .
• Bernhard Casper (Ed.): Phenomenology of the Idol . Verlag Karl Alber, Freiburg / Munich 1981, ISBN 3-495-47453-6 .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Bernhard Maier :  Idols, idolatry. § 2 Aspects of religious studies. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA). 2nd Edition. Volume 15, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2000, ISBN 3-11-016649-6 , p. 329.
2. ↑ Torsten Capelle : Idols and Idolatry - §1 Archaeological . In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde . Vol. 15, 2000, p. 325.
3. ↑ Stephanie-Gerrit Bruer: Idols - A Brief Introduction . In: Max Kunze (ed.): Idols, gods and idols - early human images from 10 millennia . Catalog for the exhibition in the Winckelmann Museum , Stendal. Verlag Franz Philipp Rutzen, Ruhpolding 2010, ISBN 978-3-447-06400-2 , p. 93.
4. ^ Stephanie-Gerrit Bruer: Search for the beginnings of art - idols in classical archeology in the 18th and early 19th centuries . In: Max Kunze (ed.): Idols, gods and idols - early human images from 10 millennia . Catalog for the exhibition in the Winckelmann Museum, Stendal. Verlag Franz Philipp Rutzen, Ruhpolding 2010, ISBN 978-3-447-06400-2 , pp. 79-85.
5. ^ Bernhard Maier: Idols and Idolatry - §1 Archaeological . In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde. Vol. 15, 2000, p. 329.