Hunting Frieze, Battle with Lion
The medallion frieze at the base of the removable trapezoidal panel was created around 1200. It is very difficult to pinpoint the Christian significance of the hunting and fighting scenes depicted in these medallions, unless they are seen as battles between good and evil. Most of the scenes, including the one featuring a man wrestling with a lion, are modelled on profane art from the Roman period or on Byzantine Art. It is likely that this scene was modelled on the popular motif of Hercules wrestling with the lion. That being said, the biblical hero Samson overcoming a lion was a popular and frequently depicted scene in the Middle Ages. If the man on the Shrine of the Magi is indeed Samson, this scene signifies Christ’s victory over the devil or humankind’s victory over evil.
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