Untitled

Moon, as the partner of Sun, is a bust of a
female portrayed in the inner circle of the calendar
mosaic in Hall A of the Monastery of Lady
Mary.
Male figures stand for the River Nile, the
Four Rivers of Paradise, and the sole rendition
of Oceanus on the mosaic in the south aisle at
Petra church. The months, usually males, are
portrayed in various rural activities. The zodiac
signs are all male except for Virgo. The sun god
personification in the zodiac designs on synagogue
pavements is male, as well as is bust of Sun in the
inner circle in Hall A at the Beth She"an monastery
and on the zodiac mosaic at Tallaras Baths
Astypalaea.
personification of natural forces 197
The personifications of natural elements
show some association with Hellenistic tradition,
although generally they have ‘long lost any
sense of representing actual deities’ (Dunbabin
1999: 199). However, some of the personifications
might have assigned a symbolic significance to the
images, such as the role of God as the creator of
Heaven and Earth as proclaimed by an inscription
surrounding the personification of Sea in the
Apostles church at Madaba (Piccirillo 1993: 106),
or the prosperity and thriving of the people represented
by the cycle of nature and time.