In 16th/17th century russian iconography st. christopher is shown as having a dogs head, this is because he came from the land of the cynocephali (the dog headed men). when they were baptised they aquired human features. a different tale is told in the  exhibition catalogue of the  'treasures of sacred art of the state museum of the history of religion of saint-petersberg' published by the european bank for reconstruction and development (ebrd) on the event of the first public celebration of the opening of the bank's marbled headquarters in 1993. here a much later legend from cyprus said that st. christopher asked god for a dog's head 'so he would have more luck seducing the local girls with his good looks'.

as jacques attali notes in his introduction 'in a world threatened by  intolerance and tribalism - barbaric responses to uniformity - this dialogue of cultures arts and relgions is the true response and the only one by which civilisation will advance' but he neglects to mention that the museum was once the museum of atheism.  

horsemouth finds all these gestures deeply moving.

ps. he also liked oliver burkeman's piece on dealing with backlogs, in particular the man who declared 'email bankruptcy' - your email will never be answered, sorry - horsemouth finds it particularly amusing that he was a copyright activist.