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chapter three
Figure III-10. Illustrated table of the seasons on the mosaic pavements at Hammath Tiberias, Sepphoris, Huseifa, Beth
"Alpha and Na#aran.
Tiberias and Sepphoris also symbolizes Spring on
the 4th-century Daphne (Antioch) mosaic floor
(Hanfmann 1951: II, 64, n. 23), on the 5th-century
mosaic floor at El Maqerqesh, Beth Guvrin,
(pl. VIII.2b) (II period; Avi-Yonah 1933: 146, no.
23, pl. 2), on mosaic II of the 6th-century Petra
church (pl. VIII.2c) (Waliszewski 2001: 251-252),
and on the mosaic floor of the 6th-century church
at Qabr Hiram (fig. VIII-9). The Hammath Tiberias
spring is similar in jewellery, wreath and dress
to the winged Spring with a basket and roses rendered
on a 5th-century dining hall pavement at
Caesarea (Holum et al. 1988: 171, fig. 122; Spiro
1992: 250, 254, 257, figs. 12,13) and the head
crowned with a wreath of flowers is similar to
spring head on mosaic II of the Petra Church
(pl. VIII.2c) (Waliszewski 2001: 251). The shepherd’s
crook, which is the Spring attribute at Beth
"Alpha and Na#aran, appears on the 3rd-century
mosaic floor at Ostia (Hanfmann 1951: II, 114,
n. 151), on the 3rd-century mosaic floor at Zliten,
North Africa, and on the mosaic floor of the 5thcentury
Deir es-Sleib church (figs. VIII-7,8) (Hanfmann
1951: II, 121, n. 192; Donceel-Voûte 1988:
fig. 35).
Summer (Tammuz) (pl. III.11; fig. III-10). The representation
of Summer in the mosaic of Hammath
Tiberias is a jewelled female bust crowned with
olive branches, holding a sickle in her right hand;
a sheaf of corn is at her left. The upright finger
of her right hand has a parallel rendition in the
personification of Ge on the El Maqerqesh mosaic
at Beth Guvrin (pl. VIII.2b). The Sepphoris figure
wears a cap over her wavy hair, and she is dressed
in a tunic which leaves her right breast bare; a
sheaf of corn and some fruits are on the right, a
sickle and another tool on the left, similar to Sepphoris.
The almost complete figure of Summer
on the church mosaic from Petra (B8) has comparable
features: her right breast is bare, she wears
a similar hat, and she holds the same objects, a
sickle and a sheaf of wheat (pl. VIII.2c) (Waliszewski
2001: 255-256,319). The Beth "Alpha figure
is a jewelled female bust, with fruits and field produce
before and beside her. The Na#aran figure
is completely destroyed. The Hammath Tiberias
and Sepphoris Summers are illustrated with the
same objects while the Beth "Alpha figure displays
different attributes.