#grecoroman mosaics

Crete, Archaeological Museum of Kissamos:

Mosaic of Horae and the Seasons

Vasilios Paterakis plot (1979), north side of El. Venizelos Square.

The main composition of a floor mosaic from a dining room (triclinium). The mosaic was extended with three more panels, each with a separate subject/theme a) hunting scene, b) a colourful scroll of living birds, and c) a series of squares with exotic birds and fruits. The dining room was T-shaped and the figural mosaic covered the floor of the vertical (north-south) part of the T. The horizontal bar of the T had mosaics decorated with geometric patterns.

The square composition exhibited consists of the personifications of the four Seasons in the corners, and the mythological Horae with attributes of the Seasons in a circular dance around a circular altar. The tree symbolizes the idea that the Horae are deities of vegetation. The trinity recalls the older, Hellenic division of the year into three seasons. The circular dance symbolizes the renewal of nature. The mosaic’s combination of the four Seasons with the mythological trinity of the Seasons (Horae) is unique.

The rendering of figures, the details, and the movement indicate a skillful artist and recall a lost Hellenistic painting. 

Date 2nd half of the 2nd century A.D

The four seasons at the corners of the mosaic.

And a full view of the exhibit.