Wall painting in the Catacomba of Santa Commodilla, Rome, dating to about 528 A.D. It is one of the oldest representations of the Virgin Mary, shown sitting on a throne with the Child Jesus in her arms and with the Saints Felix and Damian beside her.
The cult of the Virgin Mary developed since the first centuries of Christianity, mainly in the East, where she was assigned the title of Theotókos, “Birth-Giver of God”, a title which was received in the Western Christianity under the appellations of Dei genitrix and Mater Dei (“Mother of God”). Mary’s image has been an important element in popular religiosity, also for the several ecstatic and visionary experiences that were interpreted as her manifestations.
From the viewpoint of the popular cult, it is indubitable that the image of the Virgin has been superimposed on the great female divinities of the Mediterranean: Cybele, Demeter, Persephone. To the latter and to Demeter she is closer because of her aspects of chthonic goddess and of Mater dolorosa, to Artemis and Athena for virginity and for some “nocturnal” and even “warrior” aspects: the Virgin appears in effect as protectress of cities, giving strength to the armies and assuring them victory. To Hera and Isis she can be compared for her sovereignty and maternity, to Ishtar and Venus for her association with love, albeit a spiritualized and divinized love. The chthonic and watery aspects of many local cults of the Virgin have suggested a continuity, under Christian garments, of the mystery and feminine cults of Antiquity (Cardini 1995, p. 133).


[Image: http://www.archart.it/mostre/mostra-Romana-Pictura/foto-pittura_romana081.html]