Levine adds, “She can be the grieving mother, the young virgin, the goddess figure. Just as Jesus is the ideal man, Mary is the ideal woman.” During the Reformation (1517-1648), the idea of ...

Her dual roles as both virgin and mother distinguish Mary from typical women. She reflects an elevated status reinforced by the way early Christian and medieval authors wrote about her miraculous ...

A 4 c. BC Greek fresco bearing striking similarities to the traditional portrayals of the Virgin Mary has been discovered in ...