Final answer:
The tongues that appeared to the apostles during Pentecost looked like flames of fire and are depicted as such in artistic representations, symbolizing the Holy Spirit enabling apostles to preach in various languages.
Step-by-step explanation:
The tongues that appeared to the apostles during Pentecost looked like flames or fire. This biblical event, as described in Acts 2, involved the Holy Spirit descending on the Apostles and enabling them to preach in different languages to be understood by everyone present. Artistic depictions often show these tongues of fire resting above the apostles' heads as they preach. In some visual representations, such as imagery found in the Getty, a figure personifying the cosmos or various tribes and tongues receives the words of the Apostles. The Vir gin Mary is sometimes included in these scenes, although she is not mentioned in the biblical account of Pentecost.