Madonna of the Book, by Sandro Botticelli, c. 1480
Mary
Young Galilean woman, betrothed to Joseph the carpenter, who was visited by the angel Gabriel and bore Jesus Christ.
Mary, a young woman of Nazareth, was betrothed to Joseph, a carpenter of the line of David, when the angel Gabriel appeared to her and announced that she would conceive a son by the Holy Spirit. She travelled to Bethlehem for the census and gave birth there. Mary appears throughout Jesus' ministry — at the wedding in Cana, at the foot of the cross, and with the disciples after the resurrection. Tradition holds she was probably between 13 and 16 at the Annunciation, the customary age for betrothal in first-century Galilee.
“Mary.” Atlas. Accessed 2026. https://fcbh-atlas.vercel.app/en/figure/mary
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, CARTO
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- placeJerusalem
Capital of Judah on a ridge in the Judean hills at 750 m elevation. Site of the Temple. Jesus was crucified an…
- placeBethlehem
Small town 9 km south of Jerusalem. Birthplace of King David, and of Jesus Christ. Name means 'house of bread'…
- placeNazareth
Hill town in Lower Galilee, about 25 km west of the Sea of Galilee. The boyhood home of Jesus.
- placeGalilee
Northern region of ancient Israel, fertile and lake-fringed. Most of Jesus' ministry happened here.
- figurePaul
Pharisee from Tarsus who persecuted the early church, then encountered the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus…
- customsWinnowing fork
A wide wooden fork used to toss threshed grain into the air. The wind carries the chaff away; the heavier grai…