Saint George and the Dragon in Iconography
God raised you as his own gardener, O George,
for you have gathered for yourself the sheaves of virtue.
Having sown in tears, you now reap with joy;
you shed your blood in combat and won Christ as your crown.
Through your intercessions, forgiveness of sins is granted to all.
The wealth of images depicted in holy icons is overwhelming, yet one thing appears to unite them all. Despite not usually being painted in a naturalistic way, they are always concerned in depicting reality. In icons of the life of Christ, His Saints, or other historic events we are always presented with what happened, and the meaning behind what happened.
The image of St George killing the dragon, on the other hand, appears more like a fairy-story; indeed, it is a popular image in children’s story books.
So why are there literally thousands of holy icons surviving of St George killing a dragon, found in all parts of the Christian world, and spanning centuries?
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