ABSTRACT
This chapter explores an uncommon attribute of archangels in early Byzantine art: wings made of peacock feathers. Focusing on the depiction of the archangels Michael and Gabriel in the apse mosaic of the church of the Panagia Angeloktistos at Kiti in Cyprus, it argues that the iconography of peacock-feathered wings was influenced by the Roman symbolism of the peacock, the visions of Old Testament prophets and liturgical invocations of angels. Ultimately, the peacock feathers serve to conflate the archangels with the many-eyed seraphim and cherubim, encouraging a typological reading of Scripture and emphasizing the unity of sacred time, both important features of early Christian apse decoration. They also reveal the liturgical significance of an apse mosaic centred on the theme of the Incarnation.
