Catacomb Painting of Christ as the Good Shepherd

Catacombs (tunnels with underground rooms) cut deep into soft rock outside major cities in the Roman Empire served as meeting places and burial chambers for Jews and Christians. Rome had 340 miles of catacombs. This painting from the catacomb at Rome named after Priscilla, who was probably a Christian from the first century C.E., shows Jesus as the Good Shepherd (John 10:10–11). He is carrying an animal back to the flock, symbolizing his role as savior; he is dressed in the traditional fashion for a Roman man on a special occasion. Catacomb paintings such as this one were the earliest form of Christian art. (Catacomb of Priscilla, Rome, Italy / photograph by Erich Lessing / Art Resource, NY.)