141-150

Personifications of the months in a mosaic floor in Thessaloniki

• Μαρκή, Ευτέρπη

On the site of 21, Aiolou St. in the Upper City, excavations unearthed partof the mosaic floor of a triclinium, which belongs to the 12th villa with atriclinium found in Thessaloniki. The villa was built in an unbuilt area and thismosaic is a continuation of the one excavated in 1990.The theme of the mosaic is a composition of octagons enclosing circlescontaining square lozenges. The octagons enclose various types of rosettes withimaginative designs and a variety of colours. There are traces of repairs in partsof the E border and in the motifs in some of the octagons. The centre of theroom, which is unfortunately ruined, is occupied by a square surrounded by achainlike interlacing design, within which are inscribed two concentric circlesdecorated with a succession of triangles. In the centre of the first circle theremust have been the personification of the sun, some of whose rays, togetherwith traces of a braided wreath, still survive. The sun was surrounded by asecond circle, within which were depicted the signs of the zodiac at random andwithout surrounds. There survive, in an anticlockwise direction, the opposedfish, the ram, and the bull. The comers of the central square were ornamentedwith a kantharos with scrolled handles flanked by two birds. The first row ofoctagons around the central motif of the sun is occupied, on a white ground ofmarble tesserae, by the personifications of the months and the winds. January,February, March, and probably the E wind must have been depicted along the Nside. Along the E side, in the excavated section, survive the personifications ofApril and May; only the outline and inscription of June survive, followed by thepersonification of the S wind. July survives and must have been accompaniedby August, September, and probably the W wind along the S side. And along theW side were October, November, December, and probably the N wind. All thepersonifications are accompanied by inscriptions and are of an uneven artisticstandard, particularly May, as they were executed by different hands.A coin of Honorius (393-423) found in the substratum dates the mosaic tothe 1st half of the 5th century. The subject matter, which was popular in LateAntiquity, is found here for the first time in Thessaloniki, where a notabletradition of mosaics featuring human figures was abandoned after the 4thcentury in favour of geometrical patterns. The thematic repertory may be attributedto a demanding and cultivated commissioner, possibly the Eparch ofthe city himself, and symbolises the protection offered by Christ (the sun)throughout the year and in all weathers to the owner of the house.

• History and Archaeology

• Κλασσικές αρχαιότητες

Θεσσαλονίκη, ψηφιδωτά, συνέδρια

Περιέχει εικόνες