As we enter the compressive space of the south portal the column figures crowd around us, acting out the story of the Incarnation of Christ.  To our left Solomon and Sheba provide an Old Testament prefiguration (derived from the (Song of Songs) of the loving relationship between Christ and the Virgin Mary, Herod and the Three Magi bring us the feast of Epiphany (January 6) and the Annunciation of the Nativity to the Gentiles.  To our right, the Annunciation to the Jews with the Angel bringing the news to Mary (Annunciation), Mary and Elisabeth (Visitation) and baby Jesus brought to the Temple (Presentation).  The austere central figure, known locally as the Mère Dieu, represents the Virgin Mary as queen; its form is derived from a Byzantine ivory of the Hodegetria type, probably received in Amiens after the 1204 fall of Constantinople.  The dramatic interaction of the column figures suggests a background in liturgical drama: the "Ceremony of the Star" (Officium Stellae) performed each year at Epiphany where the arrival of the Magi was acted out by three cantors who, following the light of the star simulated by a lantern suspended from the choir vaults, enter the sanctuary and place their gifts on the principal altar upon which had been set an image of the enthroned Virgin and Child.  Here in the portal the Magi present their gifts across the space of the doorway and the star was simulated by a lantern suspended from the enclosing arch (voussoir) above (the hole is still visible).

If the column figures are actors in a story fixed in time (Advent to Epiphany) the images directly below and above the central image of the Virgin introduce a far vaster temporal and allegorical framework.  The triumphant Virgin tramples underfoot the serpent of the Original Sin of Adam and Eve: the visitor is reminded of the Creation of the first humans and the fatal eating of the forbidden fruit in the scenes at the base of the trumeau.  Mary is the New Eve.  Above the doorway the Ark of the Covenant is flanked by six Old Testament priests including Moses and Aaron.  The Ark was understood allegorically as the body of the Virgin Mary since it had contained the life-giving bread (manna) miraculously given to them in the desert, just as the Virgin's body contained the Savior.  The Ark also refers to the form of the relic-containing boxes (châsses) which contained the bodies of the saints.  And in the scenes in the middle level of the tympanum we are projected forward in time to the end of the Virgin's sojourn on earth.  The August 15 feast of the Assumption of the Virgin, first established early in Jerusalem and the Byzantine East, had gained widespread popularity in western Europe by the 12th century and had already made its appearance in Gothic sculpture in tympana at the cathedrals of Senlis, Laon and Notre-Dame of Paris.  Here in Amiens we see to the left the grieving Disciples grouped around the apparently lifeless body of the Virgin placed atop a sarcophagus (the Dormition) and to the right the disciples have been replaced by a band of exultant angels while the body of the Virgin levitates.  And in the crown of the tympanum the Virgin, enthroned beside Christ, is crowned by angels.  The Coronation of the Virgin, derived from the poetic celebration of the relationship of the bride and groom (sponsa and sponsus) in the Song of Songs became widely popular as a result of the preaching of Honorius of Autun, Bernard of Clairvaux and Jean d'Abbeville who was dean at Amiens when the portal program was devised. Representations of the scene in the mosaics of the apse of Santa Maria in Trastevere (rededicated in the presence of members of the clergy of Amiens in 1215) and in the sculpture of the cathedrals of Senlis, Laon, Noyon, and Notre-Dame of Paris had an enormous impact.  The Virgin Mary was understood to represent the Church triumphantly united with Christ at the end of time.

We have seen that the right (south) portal provides a clear starting point in the order of the prophets as well as in the stories of the Old and New Testaments with Eve and the Virgin Mary --but which portal should we consider next?  For reasons which can be comprehended visually as well as reasons not immediately apparent to the modern viewer, I suggest that the left, north portal should come next (Note: this also corresponds to the construction sequence).