"Iconoclast" originally referred to a person who destroyed icons, that is, sacred paintings or sculpture. An example is Byzantine emperor Leo III, who ordered the destruction of all icons of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and the Saints in his empire. For more discussion of historical iconoclasts, see iconoclasm.

The more common meaning in current usage is that an iconoclast is a person who attacks cherished beliefs, traditional institutions, etc., as being based on error or superstition.

Modern iconoclasts may carry out symbolic or quixotic acts of protest against authority figures, the connotation being that the iconoclast opposes the imposition of authority itself rather than any particular policy or action.

Other Uses

Iconoclast was a Southern Californian anarcho-punk band in the 1980s.

Iconoclast is the name of a Cyberpunk MUD and Role Playing Game.

Iconoclast is the name of a Sundance Channel show where "ground-breaking" celebrities are interviewed.

In the 1890's Iconoclast was the name of a major Texas newspaper known for being critical of powerful institutions and figures. The newspaper ceased to exist when editor William Cowper Brann was shot in the back for exposing scandalous activities at Baylor University. The paper resurfaced in the past few years as The Iconoclast, published for the Baylor campus by Theophilus Athenaeum.

See also

• Iconoclasm

Eastern Orthodoxy