Halo (religious iconography) Halo (religious iconography) A halo (from Greek , "halōs"; also known as a nimbus, aureole, glory, or gloriole) is a crown of light rays, circle or disk of light that surrounds a person in art. They have been used in the iconography of many religions to indicate holy or sacred figures, and have at various periods also been used in images of rulers or heroes. In the sacred art of Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam and Christianity, among other religions, sacred persons may be depicted with a halo in the form of a circular glow, or flames in
Aureole effect plane. Although the focused (light) ray cones are actually more or less parallel to each other, the rays from the aureole effect appear to be radiating from the shadow of the viewer’s head due to perspective effects. The viewer's line of sight is parallel and lies within the cones, so from the viewer's perspective the rays seem to be radiating from the antisolar point, within the viewer's shadow. As in similar antisolar optical effects (such as a glory or Heiligenschein), each observer will see an aureole effect radiating only from their own head’s shadow. Similarly, if a photographer holds their