The shepherd and the lamb are potent images in mythology, and in art.  The shepherd represents pastoral care, and, for perhaps less obvious reasons, wisdom. The lamb, understandably, is a symbol of sacrifice. 
    The trail begins in the Middle East with the adoption of sheep husbandry around ten thousand years ago. As far as this study is concerned, it ends in a pub in Central London. Where better?

The Good Shepherd

The shepherd in mythology
Biblical shepherds
Early Christian images
The vanishing image

The Lamb of God

Sacrifice in mythology and the Old Testament
The New Testament
Early depictions in art

Conspiracy theories and the Ghent Altarpiece
John the Baptist
Later depictions

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