The mytania is a symbol of respect and submission to God, comparable to the genuflection done in the Western Churches. The mytania is a bow with the knees kept straight while making the sign of the cross. When entering and leaving the church , it is customary to approach the tetrapod, make a mytania or reverence, and venerate the icon placed upon it by kissing it. The veneration of icons plays an important role in the Eastern Church. The veneration of icons is directed toward the image represented.
Icons are symbols.
They allow the faithful to look upon significant events, Divine Beings, and saints not as figures from the past, but as events and personages that are relevant to modern life.