Endnote 14 – What Are Pagan River Gods Doing in Scenes of Jesus’ Baptism?

The sixth- or seventh-century fresco of Jesus’ baptism from the monastery in Bawait shows the river deity as feminine, perhaps because rivers were often personified by female spirits in the older traditions of Greek art. This image was published by J. Cledat, La monastere et la necropole de Baouit (Cairo, 1916). Also see articles by Waser, “Vom Flubgotte Jordan und andern Personifikation,” in Festgabe A. Kaeagi (Frauenfeld, 1919), pp. 191–217, and G. Ristow, “Zur Personifikation des Jordan in Taufdarstellungen der fruhen christliche Kunst,” Arbeit der DDR 2 (1957), pp. 120–126.