Cumaean Sibyl

A classical prophetic figure whose traditions were interpreted by some Christian writers as anticipating a coming savior.
A Visit With Jesus

Cumaean Sibyl

Artist: Michelangelo- Sistine Chapel

16 August 2011, 15:08:59

Cumaean Sibyl

The Cumaean Sibyl was associated with Cumae in Italy and became especially famous through Roman literature, including Virgil. Renaissance Christian readers sometimes treated classical references to a coming golden age as anticipations of Christ.

The Cumaean Sibyl does not appear in Scripture. Her role in the ceiling reflects the Renaissance habit of placing selected classical traditions beside biblical revelation. Such associations reveal Christian artistic interpretation, not proof that the ancient sibyl predicted Jesus.

Michelangelo portrays her as an elderly, muscular woman absorbed in a great book. The contrast between her aged face and powerful body is striking. Her concentrated reading makes the search for wisdom seem arduous and enduring.

The Cumaean Sibyl