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concluding remarks, comments, and observations 287
represent combat in the arena). From the way in
which these categories are related it is possible
to deduce the meaning of the mosaic as a whole.
The artist has created an analogue of human society
and its relation to the natural world…fights
between men and beasts …embody and symbolize
the triumph of civilization over nature… The
three divisions of the mosaic subject matter correspond
quite literally to divisions the personality…
As an allegory of human nature’.
The pavements of the churches of the Priest
John and of St. George at Khirbat al-Mukhayyat
on Mt. Nebo are interpreted by Maguire (1987:
67-72) as representing the association between
heaven and earth; the images appear to show
the animal kingdom dominated by men as signs
for the created world. Maguire maintains that
‘it is possible for the motifs in any given mosaic
to differ among themselves with respect to the
density of their meanings. Some motifs could be
intended only in their literal sense, others could
carry several levels of symbolism... However it
is an open question how many, if any, of these
meaning were in the designer’s mind when he set
the eagle and the caged bird on the central axis of
the floor’. He further contends that some mosaics
‘bring together into one composition portrayals
of Earth, of the food she provides, of man’s mastery
over domestic animals, and of his defenses
against wild beasts, and that these images have
a close parallel in the ninth sermon of St. John
Chrysostom’. Thus, ‘like the Christian commentators,
the makers of the mosaics were defining
humanity’s place in the natural world created by
God’ (Maguire 1987: 72).
Piccirillo (1989: 337-340) claims that many of
the designs on Jordan church mosaic floors, such
as the scenes of shepherds, farming, hunting, and
animal combat, are meant to praise God’s creation
of the world and commend his grandeur
and the superiority of man; the significance of this
concept is intensified by such inscriptions as those
at the Theotokos Chapel in the Basilica of Moses
on Mt. Nebo: ‘O Creator and Maker of all things,
Christ our God…’. A similar inscription appears
around the medallion with a personification of the
Sea in the nave of the Church of the Apostles:
‘Lord who has made the heavens and the earth…’
(Piccirillo 1993: 91, 200). Many of the images and
other iconographic elements such as the rivers of
Paradise, the eagle, the peacocks, and in particular
the Madaba map received a new significance
of the Christian faith. Waliszewski (2001: 264-5)
contends that the Petra church mosaics may be
read at three general levels. On the highest level
the mosaics symbolize God’s domain, rendering
the world’s flora and fauna and man’s work. The
seasons could be interpreted as symbols of the
world and God’s rule over time.
For some scholars, the design intended to be
decorative could at times also have a symbolic
purpose. Dauphin (1978b: 31-34) is correct in
claiming that the ‘readings’, namely interpretations,
of the inhabited scroll pavements can be
discerned on three different levels. The first is
the rural community’s identification with the pictures
of everyday life that they see. The second
is identification by the more cultured citizens,
who recognize the birds, animals, and humans
as a representation of God’s creation, and the
pavements as a gift of thanks. On the third level
the clergy show an affinity: they might recognize
and interpret details in the vine composition as
symbols of Christ and the church. She concludes,
‘Neither symbolism nor decoration are inherent in
the inhabited scrolls. It is simply a neutral theme,
read, understood and interpreted according to
the mentality of the onlooker, for the life of artistic
motifs is far longer than that of their original
significance…the inhabited scroll…taking on different
meanings according to the period, the religion,
the building and the onlooker’.
Antique imagery encompassed many levels
of significance, in which differences in culture,
experience, and spirit played a part (Jesnick 1997:
117). Some of the designs convey ideas and relate
essential conception. Merrony (1998: 443) focuses
on the significance of religious and secular iconography
in the early Byzantine period: ‘An
iconographic dichotomy between ecclesiastical
buildings, churches and synagogues, on the one
hand, and villae on the other’. He maintains that
different iconographic traits exist: mythological
scenes are typical of the villa but do not occur in
a Christian or Jewish religious context; whereas
vintage rural and genre scenes appear in churches
and are absent from the villa context and synagogue
pavements.
Dunbabin (1978: 230-233) holds that some
motifs are purely decorative, while several secular
episodes might have had Christian significance.
She further maintains (1999: 198) that the genre
scenes inserted in the inhabited medallions might
sometimes appear anecdotal, ‘but often it is clear
that there is a unifying underlying significance…
The church floor becomes an image of the earth,