Religious

Throughout the course of human history, religion and art have been closely tied together, with art used as a primary means of depicting religious beliefs, as well as a form of worship. Religious art could be used to invoke protection or favour from a god, often in the form of amulets, which were popular in many cultures, or reliquary items. Art could also be used to honour deities through practices such as manuscript illumination; dedication of votive offerings; and depictions of divine worship or mythology. Perhaps one of the most prominent example of this is the use of cult statues in ancient religion, with the statues often worshipped as the gods themselves during ritual activity, such as the annual dedication of the peplos garment to the cult statue of Athena Polias at the Panathenaia festival.