On the use of images depicting the Gods and Goddesses

[Lucius Curtius Philo]

Salvete,

A passage from Rupke discussing the use of images of the Gods and the purpose of such representations in his book, Religious Deviance in the Roman World.

Any thoughts?



valete.

Philo

[Publius Sallustius Quadratus]

I have a question regarding images of the Gods and I am not sure if this is a good place to ask or if it would be better to create a new thread but this thread already contains the subject of images so I thought I would ask here.

To whomever may have some knowledge about this,

My question is concerning an image I made of the God Ianus to celebrate the new year and because no one I know makes or sells images of Ianus, so I decided to make my own. I made a small plaque from terracotta. I am not very experienced in clay sculpture and the plaque cracked when it dried. The image of the God was not cracked but the crack formed around the profile of one of the faces. I wonder if this piece is still considered acceptable for use in my lararium or if it is somehow invalidated by its damage?

I have seen some people say that damaged statues should not be used in prayers. I once saw someone say in a forum that a statue without arms could not be used. I wonder if this principle applies to my little plaque.

If anyone has any information about this I would appreciate it.

[Gaius Curtius Philo]

Salve Quadrate!

The statues represent the Gods giving a broken form to represent the Gods was usually badly seen. It might not be good to do so.

But it is you Sacra Privata so do what you feel is right. I hope this helped

[Publius Sallustius Quadratus]

Thank you, Victor! I think I will keep it but I want to make a new one. If I decide to dispose of it what would be recommended?

[Gaius Valerius Scipio]

I know I'm a little late in coming here but many Pagans in the Byzantine Empire did not use images of the Gods due to the fact that the Empire at the time was against any overt Pagan imagery and would have any Pagans they found worshiping the Gods executed for heresy. So many of the Byzantine Pagans used icons to represent the Gods and Goddesses in some form or other.
Would this still be applicable for a method of worship if we are unable to easily get images of the Gods?