An Analytical Study of the Roman Mosaic in the Pisidian Antioch Theater

Author

Greek and Roman Archaeology, faculty of Archaeology, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt

Abstract

Under Mehmet Taşlıalan's direction, excavations in 1991 uncovered the orchestra, spectator seats, and the theatrical façade. Ünal Demirer carried on with the excavations, paying special attention to the orchestra and stage area. There hasn't been any analytical analysis or interpretation of the mosaic's elements since it was discovered in the stage area of the Antioch Theater and published in the theater excavation reports. For this reason, this research paper aims to determine why the mosaic is there and decorates the stage floor of the Antioch Theater, which is located in the Pisidia region, apart from elucidating the symbolic meaning of birds and the supplementary elements in the scene, this analysis will also translate and interpret the panel's text and its significance to the scene as portrayed. Furthermore, the panel's relationship to its discovery site and the broader study area will be explored. The study used an analytical, comparative, and descriptive methodology.

Keywords


Sources    
Cassius Dio Cocceianus. Earnest Cary. Herbert Baldwin Foster. William Heinemann, Harvard University Press. London. 1914, book 69, chapter 11, section 2.
Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica, Book I, Chapter 15, Sec. 6, 8.
Pausanias. Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918, chapter 8, section 9.
Pliny, Natural History, Translated by Rackham, H., Volume III: Books 8-11. Loeb Classical Library 353. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1940, book 10. chapter 63.
References
Allen James, The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts, Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2005.
Anđelkovic Jelena, Emilija, Dragana, "Peacock as a Sign in the Late Antique and Early Christian Art", Arheologija i prirodne nauke, 6, (2011): 231-248.
Anthon Charles, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1882.
Antić Todor, Stevanović Mateja, "Ikonografska analiza predstava pauna na rimskom novcu", Zbornik radova, PS 77, (2018): 522-529.
Arnott Geoffrey, Birds in the Ancient World from A to Z, New York: Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2007.
Boev Zlatozar, "Bird Images in the Mosaics of Late Antique Basilicas in the Town of Sandanski, Blagoevgrad Region, SW Bulgaria", Historia naturalis bulgarica, 41, (2020): 13-21.
Dué Casey, et al., "Afterlife in Homer". in The Cambridge Guide to Homer, ed. Corinne Ondine Pache: 287–92. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020.
Segal Charles, "Dionysus and the Gold Tablets from Pelinna", Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 31, No. 4 (1990): 411- 419.
Dağlıer Elvin, "Late Antique Floor Mosaics in Secular Contexts from Anatolia", Unpublished M.A. diss., Koç University, Istanbul, 2022.
Fadel Doaa, "The Influence and Semantics of Using Animals and Birds Symbols in Greek, Roman and Coptic Art", Journal of the Faculty of Tourism and Hotels Mansoura University, Issue No. 11, part 5, (2022): 247-328.
Fleming James, "The Image of Antinous and Imperial Ideology", Unpublished MA. diss., University of Ottawa, Canada, 2019, 104.
Green Ashleigh, Birds in Roman life and Myth, London: Routledge, 2023.
Evans Helen, Nonclassical Sources for the Armenian Mosaic near the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem, In East of Byzantium. Syria and Armenia in the formative period, Washington, D.C: Symposium Dumbarton Oaks, 1982.
Henderson Priscilla, "The Christian Mosaics of Byzantine Palestine: towards an interpretation", Unpublished PhD diss., Australian National University, vol. 1-2, 1990.
Illustrated Glossary – Technician Training for the Maintenance of In Situ Mosaics – Getty Conservation Institute/Institut National du Patrimoine, Tunis – 2013
Jamshidi Niayesh, "Building a God: The Cult of Antinous and Identity in the Eastern Roman Empire", Unpublished MA. diss., University of Oregon, Eugene, 2018.
Jobling James, Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names, Christopher Helm, London, 2010.
Jones Frederick, "The Caged Bird in Roman Life and Poetry; Metaphor, Cognition, And Value", Syllecta Classica, vol. 24,1, (2014): 105-123.
Kuter Nazan, Erdogan Elmas, "yalvaç, pisidia antiocheia antİk kenti ve çevresinin peyzaj Özellİkleri ve turİzm açisindan değerlendirilmesi", Turkish Journal of Forestry Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi Orman Fakültesi Dergisi, Cilt: 7 Sayı: 1, (2006): 111-123.
Lewis Charlton, Short Charles, A new Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1891
Liddell Henry, Scott Robert, Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper &Brothers, 1883.
Litovchenko Anna, Michail Aleksey, "On the Origin of the Early Christian Artistic Tradition in Byzantine Chersonesos", Athens Journal of History, Volume 1, Issue 3, (2015): 223-238.
Lopes Ricardo, Juan, Alessandro, Maura, "Purple Swamphen or Gallinule (Porphyrio porphyrio) and humans: a forgotten history of past interactions", Society & Animals, 24, (2016): 574-595.
Mallampati Hima, Demirer Ünal, "Architecture, Entertainment and Civic Life: The Theater at Pisidian Antioch", In Building a New Rome: The Imperial Colony of Pisidian Antioch, Editors: E. K. Gazda – D. Y. Ng – Ü. Demirer, Ann Arbor: Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, Mich. 2011.
Ossi Adrian, "Architectural Reconstruction Drawings of Pisidian Antioch by Frederick J. Woodbridge", Bulletin - The University of Michigan Museums of Art and Archaeology, Volume 16, (2005): 5-28.
Ossi Adrian, "The Roman Honorific Arches of Pisidian Antioch: Reconstruction and Contextualization", Unpublished PhD diss., University of Michigan, 2009.
Pavel Omer, Hiewa Bahjat, "Chukar partridge in northern Iraq: A review article", Iraqi Journal of Veterinary Sciences, Vol. 37, No. 2, (2023): 495-505.
Pérez Aitor “Mên Askaenos and the Native Cults of Antioch by Pisidia, Colloquia Antiqua 17, Peeters, (2016): 119-150.
Re’em Amit, et al., "New Archaeological Study of the Armenian Birds Mosaic Chapel in Jerusalem", New Studies in the Archaeology of Jerusalem and Its Region Collected Papers, Volume XIV, Jerusalem, (2021): 119-141.
Rubin Benjamin, (Re)presenting empire: The Roman imperial cult in Asia Minor, 31 BC–AD 68, Unpublished PhD dissertation, University of Michigan, 2008.
Said Heba, Kitat Sara, "Evaluating Virtual Interfaces of Archaeological Sites; Case Study of the Roman Sites in Alexandria", Journal of Association of Arab Universities for Tourism and Hospitality, Vol.23 No. 2, (2022): 68-94.
Schick Baurath, F. J. Bliss, "Discovery of a Beautiful Mosaic Pavement with Armenian Inscription, North of Jerusalem", Palestine Exploration Quarterly, vol. 26, no. 4, (1894): 257-261.
Sear Frank, Roman Theaters: An Architectural Study. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.
Sumo Jean-Marie, "Christology: Divinity and Humanity of Christ", Unpublished PhD diss., Beulah Heights University, Atlanta, 2016.
Tammisto Antero, "Swamp-Hens (Porphyrio spp.) and Ducks (Anatidae) in the Tomba di Morlupo and Other Republican and Early Augustan Romano-Campanian Mosaics and Wall Paintings", Arctos – Acta Philologica Fennica, Helsinki, Vol. 37, (2003): 207-250.
Taşlıalan Mehmet, Pisidia Antioacheia’sı 1995 Yılı calışmaları. Müze Kurtarma Kazıları Semineri, 8–10 Nisan 1996, Ankara: T.C. Kültür Bakanlığı Millî Kütüphane Basımevi, 1997.
Tülek Füsun, A mosaic Image of a Peacock from Osmaniye (Plain Cilicia): A Contribution to the Corpus of Cilician Floor Mosaics. Soma 2008 Proceedings of the XII Symposium on Mediterranean Archaeology, 5-8 March 2008, ed. Hakan Oniz, Famagusta, North Cyprus: British Archaeological Reports, 2009.