Representations of Anargyroi Physician Saints on Cappadocian (Byzantine) wall paintings,

Iconographic study of the representations of Anargyroi physician saints, on wall paintings of Cappadocian rock-cut churches, is the subject matter of this thesis which has not been the subject of any previous monographic research in particular. 15 Cappadocian churches that include 27 anargyroi physician saints' depictions were defined during the two different regional surveys in the area that were conducted in 2018 and 2019. The documental material of these surveys was cataloged. The local differences were pointed out through the iconographical comparison of the representations of physician saints' in Cappadocia to the other monumental Byzantine paintings. In order to follow the traces of the distinctive features of the physicians on Byzantine monumental art, the occupational identity of Anargyroi saints in the Byzantine society and medical, social, religious, cultural and political paradigm shifts that were relevant to define the main themes of the notion of medicine and its practice were thoroughly scrutinized throughout the perspective of the history of medieval medicine in addition to the history of art. With the help of the medical catalogs of the medieval surgical tools, some of the physicians' instruments were identified with their visual depictions on the Cappadocian wall paintings.