The art of the Byzantine period can be conceived as a religious art. It is distinctive enough to have spawned our everyday use of the word “icon” as something above and beyond a mere portrait. Byzantine art spans more than 1,000 years. But it should not be regarded as merely religious art. Constantinople and other cities were full of buildings and objects that we would describe as “secular”. And the art of Byzantium has various kinds of forms, such as: architecture, painting and mosaic.