FEB. 14:  ASCETICISM

Problematizing sexuality:  Adam and Eve

Ascending the ladder of piety (or not):  icon from Mount Sinai

Where the demons live:  the Egyptian desert

Antony, the first monk (Greek orthodox icon):

Demons, Demons and More Demons:  The Temptation of St. Anthony (Marten de Vos, 16th century)

St. Jerome in the Wilderness (Veronese, c.1580)

Ascetic celebrities of the East:  Stylites ("pillar saints")

Qalat Siman, Syria:  church built around site of Simeon's pillar

A Prostitute turned Saint:  Mary of Egypt