Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
She Who Shows the Way
Ὁδηγήτρια
Theotokos
Hodegetria
5th century (type)
Constantinople
About This Icon
The original Hodegetria type — the Theotokos holds the Christ Child on her left arm while pointing to him with her right hand, literally 'showing the way' to salvation. This compositional type is the most widely copied in Orthodox iconography.
The original Hodegetria was kept in Constantinople and was traditionally attributed to the Evangelist Luke. It was lost during the fall of Constantinople in 1453.
