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48 • The zodiac signs are accompanied by figures of draped or almost naked young men, all barefoot except one; they appear uniform. Some of these—Aquarius, Libra, Sagittarius and Pisces—are an integral part of the sign and are rendered in an active posture, holding the same objects as in other synagogue zodiacs. The other youths are depicted simply in front of signs Aries, Taurus, and Leo or standing next to signs Cancer and Scorpio. Weiss (2005: 122) maintains that the youths personify the months in addition to being part of the zodiac sign. • • • • A star accompanies each zodiac sign on the right or left at the top (Weiss [2005: 122] contends that the stars serve as an astral symbol). A similar appearance of a star rendered next to each of the four surviving zodiac signs is noted in the 1st-century CE stone ceiling relief from Palmyra (fig. III-12; Gundel 1992: no. 45). Each sign is accompanied by its Hebrew name, with the addition of the appropriate name of the month in Hebrew. The names of the zodiac signs are more randomly located, below or beside the figure and not above as in the other pavements. The names of the four seasons appear in Greek as well as Hebrew. The seasons, named tropai, are similar to the seasons’ names in the mosaic of the ‘Calendar House’ at Antioch. A distinctive development of a Jewish design is discernible in these zodiac panel mosaics, although there are differences in the depiction and execution of the figures at each synagogue. The exceptional and unmistakable conception of the figures in the three parts of the design, the sun god (or sun) in the central circle, the zodiac signs in the outer circle, and the seasons in the square corners—all point to their meaning and significance for the Jewish worshippers. The basic form of the Jewish zodiac design and its preceding Roman art examples is the same: a square with two concentric circles within the square; this was termed an ‘abstract’ type by Hanfmann (1951: 246-247), and it ‘expresses the annual course of the sun by placing a circle of zodiacal signs or the months (or both) around chapter three the central figure of the sun and distributing the seasons in the four corners of the panel’. The zodiac forms on the synagogue mosaics are alike and were probably based on a common prototype. The signs and seasons did not follow the same model; they have little in common except for the obvious meaning of each sign or season. There is a development in stylistic execution of the Jewish calendar from the naturalistic ideal style of the earliest synagogue (Hammath Tiberias) to the reserved-stylization at Beth "Alpha and Na#aran during the period of the 4th to the 6th centuries (Hachlili 1977: 74,76). Outstanding stylistically is the Beth "Alpha calendar which defies placement in any artistic category of this period (Shapiro 1960: 9-13; Kitzinger 1965: 22). Two changes mark the transition in Jewish calendar design. The first is from the natural-voluminous to the ornamental-linear style. The second is from the imitation of nature to stylistic description with emphasis on the outline of the design. At Hammath Tiberias (pl. III.1), the Hellenistic influence is clear; the figures and their movements are natural and the faces are full featured and expressive. A three-dimensional appearance is created through the artist’s use of shadowing. In the linear style, at Beth "Alpha, the figures are en face and two-dimensional; their limbs have a dolllike appearance (pl. III.3). The legs are directed to the side, not oriented frontally with the upper trunk of the body. There is no indication of age or sex, women differ from men by wearing jewelry, and color is used only to emphasize the different parts of the body. The artist used only the essential lines to portray the figures; the human face is expressed by one continuous line outlining the eyebrows and nose, a square for the mouth, and simple circles for the eyes. Generally, the style is standardized disproportionate, and lacking in anatomical concern. The stylistic feature of the zodiac mosaics is their frontality, part of the Roman and Byzantine heritage. The human figures are portrayed with no individuality; at Hammath Tiberias the figures are shown in movement and the two surviving males are portrayed nude. At Huseifa the remains indicate that the figure of Sagittarius (Qashat ) also was naked (Avi-Yonah 1934: 125). At Sepphoris the figures are in action and are draped, although some are almost naked. The figures at Beth "Alpha and Na#aran, are shown as static portraits and are fully clothed. In all the zodiacs the animals are depicted in profile, facing forwards. Hebrew names are rendered above the zodiac signs, except
Table III-1. Comparative chart of the zodiac panels in the synagogues. the zodiac panel and its significance 49 Mosaics Zodiac parts Hammath Tiberias Sepphoris Huseifa Beth "Alpha Na#aran Date 4th cent. 5th-6th. Late 5th 6th cent 6th cent Inner circle Sun god in chariot -x x -x Sun in chariot x Signs of the Zodiac outer circle Aries, Ram x -x x x -x Taurus, Bull x -x x -x Gemini, Twins -x -x x Cancer x x -x Leo, lion x x -x Virgo, Virgin x x -x Libra, Scales x x x -x Scorpion -x x x -x Sagittarius, Archer x -x x Capricorn, Goat x -x -x Aquarius, Water-Bearer x -x -x x Pisces, Fish x x -x x -x Youth x Star x Name of sign, Hebrew x x x x Name of Month, Hebrew x The seasons Spring, Nisan x x x -x Summer, Tammus x x x Autumn, Tishri x x x x -x Winter, Tevet -x x x -x Name of seasons, Hebrew x x x x Name of seasons, Greek x Zodiac clockwise x x Counter-clockwise x x x Figures outwards x x Figures inwards x x x Seasons and signs x x correspond Seasons and signs do not correspond x = entirely preserved; -x = partly preserved at Sepphoris where the names appear below the sign or beside it, with the addition of the name of the month. At Huseifa no names appeared. The Jewish designs evince differences in the depiction and in execution of the figures in each part, which underlines the development of a distinctive design (pls. III.1-11; figs. III-1-10; Table III-1). The representations of the various figures and parts as well as their parallels in Roman art clarify their origin and inspiration, and the uniqueness and significance of the Jewish design. Each synagogue employed its own artists in mosaics, who utilized the same general form of the x x x zodiac and filled in the details according to their particular style. B. Iconographic Sources and Comparisons Comparable zodiac designs, consisting of two concentric circles within a square, exist mainly on ceilings and mosaic floors of villas in Roman art; each has a unique design in terms of form, content, and harmony (Table III-2). However, the form is not always two concentric circles within a square. There are circular forms in an astronomical text
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294 glossary
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Ψ ή φ ο ς ס פ י ס פ Ancie
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contents To my beloved granddaughte
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contents CONTENTS List of Color Pla
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contents C Pastoral and Rural Scene
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list of color plates xi LIST OF COL
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list of color plates xiii V.4 Nilom
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list of color plates xv Mt. Nebo; g
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list of color plates xvii Authority
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list of figures xix LIST OF FIGURES
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list of figures xxi Figure IV-15. D
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list of figures xxiii Figure VIII-5
Page 27 and 28: list of figures xxv LIST OF TABLES
Page 29 and 30: foreword xxvii FOREWORD התדיב
Page 31 and 32: One of the most significant and fru
Page 33 and 34: pavement at Caesarea the word is sp
Page 35 and 36: mosaic pavements adorning buildings
Page 47 and 48: Introduction: Jewish Figurative Art
Page 49 and 50: Figure II-3. Beth "Alpha synagogue:
Page 51 and 52: to the Sefer HaRazim Yahoweh reside
Page 53 and 54: ut all served as repositories for t
Page 55 and 56: pomegranates and cups (Hachlili 200
Page 57 and 58: open ark with scrolls is depicted,
Page 59 and 60: are rendered in non-identical symme
Page 61 and 62: pavements of Samarian synagogues an
Page 63 and 64: of two columns surmounting an arche
Page 65 and 66: A group of ancient synagogues disco
Page 67 and 68: the zodiac panel and its significan
Page 75 and 76: the bust of the season Nisan (Sprin
Page 77: The Summer attributes, the sickle a
Page 81 and 82: Figure III-12. Part of a stone ceil
Page 83 and 84: A Roman villa at Odos Triakosion in
Page 85 and 86: the four seasons, representing the
Page 87 and 88: iblical narrative themes and images
Page 95 and 96: Noah’s Ark biblical narrative the
Page 121 and 122: Jonah biblical narrative themes and
Page 127 and 128: Nilotic scenes are a recurrent them
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iconographic elements of nilotic sc
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I.1 Masada mosaic pavements: a. ant
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I.3 Jerusalem, Upper City, pavement
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II.1 Torah shrine panels on synagog
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II.3 Comparable shrines on Jordan m
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III.1 Hammath Tiberias synagogue zo
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III.3 Beth "Alpha synagogue zodiac
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III.5 Sun God on synagogue pavement
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III.7 Zodiac signs on synagogue pav
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III.9 Zodiac signs on synagogue pav
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III.11 The four seasons on synagogu
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IV.1 Binding of Isaac on synagogue
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IV.3 David-Orpheus on the Gaza syna
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IV.5 The Orpheus mosaic, Jerusalem.
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IV.7 Sepphoris synagogue, The Conse
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V.1 Nilotic scene at Beth Leontis,
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V.3 Nilotic scene at Sepphoris Nile
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eagle. Another Nilotic scene appear
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shown standing on the river bank as
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The depiction of a putto riding a c
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Table V.1. Nilotic Elements on Byza
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Nile Festival mosaic, with the addi
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The ‘inhabited scroll’ became o
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donkey. Lively animal chase scenes
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naturalistic in execution, and unli
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which contains objects flanked by s
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Figure VI-7. Group II: Jerusalem, t
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the outer ones; the second survivin
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Table VI-1a. Composition and Repert
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Group III consists of the mosaics e
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the ‘inhabited scrolls’ mosaic
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Figure VI-13. Beth She"an, Monaster
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Figure VI-15. Sede Nahum mosaic fra
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Table VI-2a. (Cont.) Mosaic Date ce
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Table VI-2b. (Cont.) Mosaic Date ce
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In the south aisle of St. George ch
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four amphorae in the centre of the
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On Jordanian mosaics, in the acanth
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to have grapes of both styles (pl.
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ightly observes that the different
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grape harvesting, pastoral, and hun
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Rural activities and pastoral scene
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Table VII.1. Vintage scenes on vine
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Figures Treading Grapes and the Pre
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The forerunners for these vintage s
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Snake and Mongoose Confrontation Th
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Table VII.2. Animal chase and comba
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iconographic aspects of rural life
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scenes are found in the mid-5th- to
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Table VII.3. Big Game Hunting scene
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likewise surround the basin of the
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the cathedral at Madaba (Piccirillo
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443, 455-6, 466) holds that this ty
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Personification is a common theme o
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Rivers of Paradise, but only two of
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irds, apparently created by the Fou
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in an intercolumnar space (Church o
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the seasons with deliberate differe
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personification of natural forces 1
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crook Spring’s attribute at the B
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personification of natural forces 1
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while in mosaics of the Greek East
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Moon, as the partner of Sun, is a b
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Animals in a repeated antithetic sy
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designs of symmetrical antithetic a
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(Ovadiah 1987: 105) and at the Naha
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a bear, a lion and a destroyed anim
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long-horned deer drinking from a sp
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iconoclasm on mosaic pavements of s
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A significant subject in ancient ar
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These compositions with division in
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frequent ornamentation of the synag
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(Ovadiah 1987: 68): A cross within
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Some scholars propose that depictio
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V.5 City representations: a. Beth L
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V.7 The sail boat: a. Beth Leontis,
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VI.1 Gaza synagogue pavement.
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VI.3 Jerusalem ‘Armenian’ churc
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VI.6-8 Petra Church: North Aisle mo
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VI.8
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VI.10 The church of the Deacon Thom
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VI.12 Amphorae depicted on inhabite
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VI.14 Bird of prey on inhabited vin
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VI.16 Baskets on inhabited vine scr
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VI.18 Vine leaves and bunches of gr
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VI.20 Subdued animals: a. Be’er S
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VII.2 Transporting grapes: a. El Ha
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VII.4 Flute player: a. Beth She’a
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VII.6 Snake and mongoose confrontat
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VII.8 Dog chasing hare/rabbit on ch
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Inhabited Vine Scrolls Pavements A
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similar in the general depiction of
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etween synagogue and church 233 Fig
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part are evidently connected: almos
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etween synagogue and church 237 Fig
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Mukhayyat (Bagatti 1949: 99, pl. 29
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time. They might have contained gen
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Artists, workshops and schools of m
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• The same artisans are mentioned
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1933: 146, No. 23, 8; 1934: 73 =198
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characteristically mixed origin of
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The Sepphoris Mosaicists The Seppho
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on horseback spearing a leopard wit
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Odysseus fighting the monster Scyll
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Figure XII-6. Hall A mosaic, Monast
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mosaicists, workshops, and the repe
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Dating The Monastery was dated by i
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connections with Egypt, and perhaps
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different themes based on comparabl
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esults were mosaics in the old Diak
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Jews toartists and craftsmen. Among
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epeated use was supplemented by fre
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of designs from general pattern boo
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concluding remarks, comments, and o
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list of sites 289 LIST OF SITES Sit
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Site Date Centuries CE Jordan (Arab
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VII.10 Jabaliyah Diakonikon mosaic
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VII.12 Hunter/soldier on foot with
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VII.14 Feline with cub: a. Gaza syn
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VII.16 Shepherd: a. Be’er Shem‘
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VII.18 Figure leading camel: a. Kis
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VII.20 Fishing: a. Beth Loya, two e
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VIII.2 Seasons: a. Caesarea: Spring
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VIII.4 Beth She’an monastery, Hal
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IX.2 Flanking birds: a. Beth Shean,
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IX.4 a. Huseifa, unidentical menoro
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X.2 Susiya synagogue: a. panel Tora
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X.4 Jabaliyah church, north aisle.
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XI.2 Crosses on mosaic pavements: a
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XI.4 Tabgha, Church of the Multipli
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XII.2
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XII.4 Beth Leontis, Beth She’an:
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XII.6 Similarities between animals:
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XII.8 Similarities between animals
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glossary 293 GLOSSARY Aedicula Ston
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list of sites 295 ABBREVIATIONS ACR
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Abel, F. M. 1924 Décourvertes réc
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1969 Antike Mosaiken in Kilikien, I
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2001 The Nilometer, in Measuting an
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The Art of Byzantium and the Mediev
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1995 The Activity of the Mosaicists
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1971 The Secret of the ‘En Gedi I
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