Comparison of Moschophoros and Good Shepherd

Byzantine and Christian Museum, Athens, Greece

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Statue (left):
Material: Marble
Date range: 570 BC
Origin: Athens, Acropolis Museum 

Fresco (right):
Material: Wall painting/fresco
Date range: 3rd century AD
Origin: Rome, Catacomb of St. Callixtus

A side-by-side comparison of two iconographically similar figures from vastly different periods and contexts. On the left is the Moschophoros (Calf-Bearer), an Archaic Greek statue from 570 BC found on the Athenian Acropolis. The figure, a bearded man with braided hair, is shown carrying a calf across his shoulders, holding its legs with crossed hands in a classic offering pose.

On the right is a photographic reproduction of a wall painting titled "Representation of the Good Shepherd" from the 3rd century AD, located in the Catacomb of St. Callixtus in Rome. This later Roman Christian image echoes the earlier Greek form, depicting a youth in a tunic carrying a sheep on his shoulders in a similar manner, flanked by a bucket and animals.

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Supplementary images:

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Comparison of the archaic Moschophoros statue and a 3rd-century Good Shepherd fresco

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Source:  Athens, Greece