Cain is Punished

12th-13th century
Mosaic
Cathedral of the Assumption, Monreale, Sicily

Caught red-handed with his bludgeon, Cain looks ready to rush off. The inscription tells the story: DIXIT DEUS CAYM CAYM SANGUIS FRATRIS TUI VOCAT ME DE TERRA, "God said, ‘Cain, Cain, your brother's blood calls to me from the earth’" (Genesis 4:10). The blood is visualized by a little red Abel extending his hands from a mound on the terrain.

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Photographed at the cathedral by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.