Ikons are almost 2000 years old. Learn how they have their roots in ancient Greece, Rome and the Holy Land. Find out how they were first painted and what early Christians thought of them.

Learn about ikons of Mary, the Theotokos; how they came about and about and the different kinds of ikons of the Virgin.

The original ikon of Our Lady of Kazan was discovered in a garden in 1579, on this page you can find out about the most popular ikon in Russia and its origins.

Read about the splendors of glittering Constantinople, when the power and glory of Byzantium was at her peak. Find out how ikons of Christ changed over time.

Here you can learn about Vladimir, the Great Prince of Kiev and how he sent out emmissaries all over the world to find the faith best suited for his people. This was the begining of Russian ikon painting.

Ikon art spread out all over the Greece, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Serbia and Bosnia from Constantinople. On this page you can learn how medieval masters painted and about ikons of the Annuniciation.

In Russia one of the most famous artists was a monk named Andrei Rublev. Go here to see his work and find out why the 15th century was the Golden Age of ikon painting in Russia.

With enemies at all sides the City of Constantinople held out as a bastian of Western Hellenic culture for 1100 years. Read about Byzantine art in the twilight years of the Empire which ended on May 29, 1453, when the Imperial City fell to the Islamic army of the Ottoman Turks.

Did you know many historians believe our Modern Era began in 1453 with the end of the Byzantine Empire? Visit this page and read how the art of ikon painting has changed since the Fall of Constantinople.