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long-horned deer drinking from a spring, which
Saller and Bagatti (1949: 103, pl. 20,1) argue is
‘the baptismal water’.
The mosaic in the second chapel of the Apostles
church portrays two pairs of horned animals and
a pair of hares flanking plants. They are between
four fruit trees, each rising in one of the corners.
One side has a dedicatory inscription (Piccirillo
1993: 106, figs. 89, 95). The Mosaic of Paradise at
Madaba is a square with fruit trees placed diagonally
and meeting in the centre with a medallion
with a face. Down the sides between the trees,
pairs of non-symmetrical rendered animals face
each other: two hares, two rams, and two ducks or
geese. On the north side a lion and a zebu flank a
plant (Piccirillo 1993: 128, figs. 137, 139). This is
interpreted as a scene of filia (friendship) among
animals, perhaps ‘a symbolic representation of
the biblical Eden or Paradise’.
A variation of this composition appears on the
presbytery mosaic panel at the Deacon Thomas
church (Piccirillo 1993: 187, figs. 266, 269). Here
the four fruit trees are vertical. A lion faces a bull/
zebu in the lower part, each animal in front of a
tree, and a ram is in the upper part.
Another variation occurs on the platform
mosaic at the west end of the Martyr Theodore
chapel in the cathedral at Madaba (Piccirillo
1993: 117, figs. 110, 111). A square panel contains
four fruit trees dividing the space, and only
two pairs of animals are between the two pairs
of trees. Two lions (only the rear part of one is
preserved) flank a tree in the eastern space and a
pair of deer flank a tree in the western space. The
pairs of beasts are interpreted by Dunbabin (1999:
198) as ‘allusions to Paradise and to sacrifice’.
Interestingly, on all these pavements the same
animals face each other, except for the lion and
the bull on the Mosaic of Paradise and in Deacon
Thomas church.
D. Unidentical Symmetrical Composition
Symmetry is a distinctive feature of the art of the
ancient world. Antithetic or heraldic symmetrical
composition—a central object flanked by a pair of
animals or various items, which occurs in many
figurative and decorative subjects, is one of the
basic elements of Oriental art (Avi-Yonah 1948:
144; Hachlili 1989: 65, figs. 1-3). As a rule the
symmetry is intensified by the flanking animals
designs of symmetrical antithetic animals 207
or objects being identical. But sometimes this
composition is unconventional: (1) motifs have
unidentical symmetry; or (2) the design is nonsymmetrical
in the depiction of different flanking
motifs (Hachlili 1988: 376-79; 1989: 65-67).
A non-symmetrical design feature is found in
the entrance panel of the mosaic pavement of the
Beth "Alpha synagogue, where the inscription is
flanked by a lion on one side and by a bull on
the other (pl. IX.1, fig. IX-1). The animals were
apparently selected for their symbolic value (Avi-
Yonah 1981a: 51).
Most frequently antithetic designs are composed
symmetrically, but in some cases aesthetic
symmetry is realized even though some objects
or animals, are clearly not identical, and are
intentionally represented dissimilarly. Impressive
examples of this tendency are found on mosaic
pavements of synagogues, as detailed next.
Several panels depict a Torah shrine flanked
by menoroth and ritual objects in a symmetrical
composition which contains dissimilar flanking
objects. For example, almost all the heraldic elements
in the Beth "Alpha Torah shrine panel are
not identical (pl. II.2a): the menoroth flanking the
Ark differ, especially in their bases and in the
lamps on the bar; each of the four ritual objects is
portrayed differently; the two lions appear similar
but have different tails; and the birds are unalike.
In Hammath Tiberias synagogue the upper panel
has a symmetrical design (pl. II.1a), but even here
the two shofaroth and incense shovels are dissimilar
in their details. At Sepphoris, the Torah
shrine panel details are almost identical but the
bases of the menoroth differ in scale and size; the
ethrogim are positioned dissimilarly (pl. II.1b).
The menoroth in the Susiya pavement (pl. II.2b)
are entirely unalike, particularly in their branches
and bases. In the centre of the zodiac panel at
Beth "Alpha (pl. III.3) the horses, two on each
side of the sun god, are rendered symmetrically
but are portrayed differently, particularly in their
head decoration. The entrance panel at Huseifa
(pl. IX.4a; fig. IX-4) shows two wholly different
menoroth: one has pottery lamps whereas glass
lamps are seen on the other; the branches too
are unalike.
Animals flank inscriptions, menoroth, and the
Ark on several synagogue mosaic pavements.
These animals are usually similar, although differences
in details can be distinguished. The Hammath
Tiberias pavement shows lions facing each
other across the inscription (pl. IX.1a; fig. IX-1a).