ABSTRACT
The sacred interior of Hagia Sophia was seen as a symbol of divine light and beauty reflective of Pseudo-Dionysius system of thought. The model of artistic production as analogue to divine creation through the agency of the human mind, and the role of the artist analogous to the demiurge was an important Neoplatonic development, although it was based on the Platonic concept of participation. The concept of mimesis is central to the understanding of art and its value within the Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian cultures from Plato onwards. The most elaborate treatment of mimesis in the visual arts occurs in Book Ten of the Republic, and it is commonly taken as proof of Plato's sustained and decisive condemnation of the arts. The theme of light is constantly present in the Corpus Areopagiticum. In the thought of Pseudo-Dionysius, light is explicitly identified with the supreme good and beauty and thus provides an ideal paradigm of God.
