Platytera
Platytera ton ouranon is one of the Virgin Mary’s attributes, meaning in Greek “more spacious than the heavens”. Iconographically, in the Orthodo churches Theotokos Platytera is usually placed in the half-dome of the apse, above the altar and, very much like Panagia, she is represented frontally, in the orans position, with the bust of the Child Jesus within a medallion on her chest, (see also Panagia). However, unlike Panagia, the image of Platytera is usually very large, depicting not a full standing figure as the Virgin’s body is shown only to the waist. There are variants of the theme in which the Child does not appear in a medallion but directly on the Virgin’s chest.
Because in the half-dome of the altar is represented sometimes another image of the Marian canon, namely “The Virgin Mary, Queen of Heaven” shown as an enthroned Virgin with Child, which shares common traits with Platytera, confusions and superpositions between the two are possible (see also The Virgin Mary, Queen of Heaven)
Platytera ton ouranon is one of the Virgin Mary’s attributes, meaning in Greek “more spacious than the heavens”. Iconographically, in the Orthodo churches Theotokos Platytera is usually placed in the half-dome of the apse, above the altar and, very much like Panagia, she is represented frontally, in the orans position, with the bust of the Child Jesus within a medallion on her chest, (see also Panagia). However, unlike Panagia, the image of Platytera is usually very large, depicting not a full standing figure as the Virgin’s body is shown only to the waist. There are variants of the theme in which the Child does not appear in a medallion but directly on the Virgin’s chest.
Because in the half-dome of the altar is represented sometimes another image of the Marian canon, namely “The Virgin Mary, Queen of Heaven” shown as an enthroned Virgin with Child, which shares common traits with Platytera, confusions and superpositions between the two are possible (see also The Virgin Mary, Queen of Heaven)
