Floor mosaics were a characteristic feature of later Greek and then Roman cities, both in private houses and in public buildings. The floor mosaics from Olynthos are among the earliest from the Greek world. Floor mosaics, designs created by, first, colored pebbles and, later, cut pieces of stone set into cement, originated in the late fifth century BC at Olynthos and Corinth, becoming popular in the fourth century BC. Earlier mosaics have been discovered at such Iron Age towns as Ziyaret Tepe (south-east Turkey) and Gordion, but these Neo-Assyrian and Phrygian examples did not have direct descendants. Why the fashion arose in Greece in the later Classical period is not clear.
Mosaics fall into two groups according to the type of material used, pebbles and tesserae. For pebble mosaics, the earlier of the two types, naturally shaped and colored pebbles were used to make the picture, sometimes with baked clay or lead strips added as outlines. By careful juxtaposition of the colors, images could be shaded. In this the craftsmen making mosaics were following the artistic conventions already developed for prestigious mural painting in which volume and depth of space were indicated by shading, that is, by contrasts of light and dark achieved by the manipulation of different tones of color. Although the pebble mosaics of Olynthos are important, the finest known series comes from Pella, the capital of ancient Macedonia.
During the early Hellenistic period, pebbles were replaced by tesserae, cut pieces of stone, glass, or terracotta of various colors. By the second century BC, craftsmen could even cut pieces 1mm square; the mosaic technique that utilized such tiny pieces was called opus vermiculatum. With tesserae, shading could be controlled with greater precision. Tessellated mosaics were costly, however, because the laying of a mosaic floor demanded considerable time. Nevertheless, mosaics continued in popularity as floor decorations for the houses of the wealthy and certain public spaces (such as walkways under porticoes) through the Roman Empire — and in late antique and Byzantine times, notably in churches, for wall and ceiling decoration, and, in some regions such as Jordan, for floors.
The Alexander Mosaic from Pompeii is the best-known example of an early tessellated mosaic (Figure 17.13). Found in the exedra, a reception room of the House of the Faun, this large floor, 5.1m X 2.7m (without its perspectival border), made ca. 100 BC, is believed to copy a lost wall painting of the late fourth century BC. In the panel, Alexander the Great faces off against Darius III, the Persian king, in the crucial Battle of Issos. In the lower half of the scene, soldiers, weapons, and horses collide and intertwine. The upper half is spare, with a dead tree indicating the landscape and upraised spears punctuating the otherwise empty space. In this void Darius, in the higher, focal point of the picture, makes eye contact with Alexander on our left; the confrontation of the two men rising above the mayhem distills the clash of powerful armies. Observed in a photograph or on the wall, as the mosaic is now displayed in the Archaeological Museum
Figure 17.13 The Alexander Mosaic, House of the Faun, Pompeii. Archaeological Museum, Naples
In Naples, the scene can be appreciated in its entirety. The ancient viewer, in contrast, standing on the floor, had to be content with a close look at a few details or a distorted raking view.
Many other images of Alexander the Great have survived, made both during his lifetime and after, when a recollection of the great conqueror could serve as an inspiration. Illustrated here is a portrait known as the Azara Herm, named after the first owner in modern times (Figure 17.14). This Roman Imperial portrait, made in the first or second century AD, is generally considered a copy of an original by the famous Greek sculptor Lysippos, of ca. 330 BC. The inscription, in Greek, reads “Alexander, son of Philip the Macedonian.” Such portraits, seen in sculpture and on coins, may not be strictly faithful likenesses, but thanks to certain conventions — always a clean-shaven young man with distinctive wind-swept hair — his was an easily recognizable image. For imparting the message, recognition was all important.
Figure 17.14 Portrait of Alexander the Great (the Azara Herm). Roman Imperial copy of an original by Lysippos. Louvre Museum, Paris
World History
