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Odysseus fighting the monster Scylla, and Odysseus
and the sirens (pl. XII.4a). A Greek inscription
within a circle, surrounded by birds, occupies
the central panel. On the right side of the inscription
is depicted a (mutilated) five-branched menorah
(pl. XII. 4b). The lower panel is rendered with
a Nilotic landscape (pl. V.1), including a personification
of the Nile, a nilometer, a representation
of the city of ‘Alexandria’, a crocodile attacking
a cow, and a sailor in a boat (see Chap. V.
p. 97).
2. A small room in the south part of the building
is suggested to be a synagogue or a prayer room
(Bahat 1981) (fig. XII-4). The room is decorated
with a mosaic pavement displaying the inhabited
vine scroll design consisting of nine medallions,
surrounded by a narrow inner and a broad outer
ornate frame (fig. VI-10). The medallions panel
has an amphora at the centre of its base, flanked
by two horned animals. Animals and birds inhabit
the medallions, except for the central one, which
contains a menorah flanked by an ethrog and
a lamp or incense box suspended from it, with
the word םולש shalom written above it (see Chap.
VI, p. 125). A narrow inner frame surrounds the
central panel, containing four amphorae at the
corners with vine branches issuing from them that
traverse animal chase scenes. The broad outer
frame surrounding the whole panel is decorated
with rhomboid medallions filled with objects and
birds.
mosaicists, workshops, and the repertory 255
Figure XII-4. Plan of the Beth Leontis complex.
II. The Christian Monastery of Lady Mary at
Tell Mastaba, outside Beth She"an, was discovered
close to the city wall and is dated from its
inscriptions to 567 (Fitzgerald 1939: 1, pl. 2). It
consists of a large structure with a main entrance
in the south leading into Hall A, which opens onto
several rooms (fig. XII-5). Most of the rooms were
paved with mosaics (Fitzgerald 1939: 1, 5-9,16).
The mosaic pavements of the Monastery rooms
to be compared to the Jewish mansion are as follows
(fig. XII-5).
3. Hall A has a floor laid in a scheme of octagons,
squares, and rhombs, filled with animals,
birds, fishes, fruit, and objects (fig. XII-6). The
octagons are larger and contain a hunting horseman,
beasts, peacocks, etc. The central part of
the floor is filled with a large medallion with two
concentric circles. The inner circle contains two
upper parts of figures bearing torches, representing
the sun and the moon. The outer circle is
divided into twelve radial units with figures signifying
the twelve months. Each contains a clad
figure carrying various objects, having at its feet
the Latin name of the month and the number of
days in Greek (pl. VIII.4).
4. The mosaic in the Chapel room G shows
a field of 80 linked medallions arranged in thirteen
rows (fig. XII-7), each containing the figure
of a bird. The birds are arranged in groups of
eight in each row except, in four in the three
upper rows. Most of the birds are walking from