This painting depicts St. George riding a white horse while spearing a snake on the ground. The man has a halo around his head with Greek writing above it. He is wearing a green skirt, red cape and chest armor. He is spearing a large green snake outdoors, where you can see mountains and foliage in the background. Above the man is an angel in purple clouds with outstretched arms and wings. The piece is in a gold frame.

This painting was donated by St. George Greek Orthodox Church, located in the Lincoln Park area of Chicago. The church was founded in 1923 by Greek immigrants. At the same time the church was established, a school was as well. The schools continues to serve the community.

In 1992, the Hellenic Museum commemorated "100 Years if Orthodoxy," the St. George Greek Orthodox Church loaned a number of items for the exhibit. They donated this particular peice to the museum at this time.

There is a famous story of St. George and the Dragon. St. George was commonly depicted as a knight. The story takes place in "Silene" in Libya. The story goes there was a lake dragon which plagued the people. To keep him at bay, they fed him two sheep a day. When Sheep stopped working, they began feeding their children, picked by lottery. On the princess' birthday, she happened to be chosen. The King begged for her to be spared, however, the townspeople refused. He dressed her as a bride, and sent her out to the dragon. Here, St. George happened to be riding by. St. George talked to the princess, while she tried to send him away. When the dragon appeared, he made the sign of the cross, and wounded it with his lance. After, he asked the princess to throw him her girdle, and slung it around the dragon's neck. The dragon now followed the princess around like her pet. She lead it to the town, where people were shocked and afriad. St. George told them if they converted to Christianity, he would kill the dragon. He killed the dragon, and the town converted to Christianity. The dragon typically represents the devil.

Another story of St. George is that he was one of Diocletian's army, and one of his favorite soliders. However, Diocletian was a severe enemy to the Christians. He was a pagan, and put death to every Christian he could find. St. George, being the brave young man he was, went to Diocletian and scolded him for being so cruel. Afterwards, he gave up his postion in the Roman Army. These actions lead to severe torture and finally to a beheading.

The content on this site is made available for research and education purposes only. The use of these materials may be restricted by law or the donor.

Any other use, such as exhibition, publication, or commercial use, is not allowed except by written permission in accordance with the NHM Image Rights and Reproduction Policy.

For questions on image rights and reproduction, please contact nhmcollections@hellenicmuseum.org