Untitled

More documents

Recommendations

Info

54 Table III-2. Comparable chart. Site Palmyra I Syria Stone ceiling Palmyra II Syria Stone ceiling Antioch Syria Mosaic floor the zodiac was an ‘astronomical realistic depiction representing God’s creation: the seasons, signs, moon, stars and sun leading the ‘heavens army’. He claims that it represents the Divine and heavenly order of the universe, the regularity in the courses of sun and moon. Further, the significance of the zodiac as a personification of the universe or cosmos is described by Jewish sources; the zodiac is an illustration, a key to the piyyutim (liturgical poems) of Eretz Israel; it is a substitute for the prayers, or functions as some kind of alternative prayer book (also Yahalom 1986: 313- 322; Foerster 1987: 231-232; Kühnel 2000: 36). Ness (1995: 131) asserts, ‘the zodiac reminded the worshiper that God of Israel ruled all things...’. Berliner (1995: 179) proposes that the scientific map of the northern sky was used by the Jews in the decorative pattern of the zodiac circle. Weiss and Netzer (1996: 35) argue, ‘the zodiac symbolized the blessing implicit in the divine order of the universe. This order is expressed in the seasons, zodiac signs, the months and the celestial bodies, which are all responsible for the cyclical patterns of nature, for growth and for harvest’. Weiss (2005: 231-235) maintains the zodiac panel is illustrating the centrality of God in the creation. Roussin (1997: 93; 2001: 55) goes so far as to suggest that ‘…Helios on synagogue pavements represents a minor deity to whom some members of the congregation might have addressed prayers—not to the image itself, but to the deity it represents’. Schwartz (2000: 175-6) suggests that the zodiac cycle ‘at Sepphoris may have been chapter three Münster Germany Mosaic floor Sparta Greece Mosaic floor Carthage Tunis Mosaic floor Astypalaea Greece Mosaic floor Beth She"an Monastry Israel Mosaic floor Date Radial 1st cent. CE 1st cent. CE 2nd cent. 3rd cent. 4th cent. 4th-5th cent. 5th cent. 6th cent. design + + + + + + + + Inner circle Outer circle Corners of the square 7 planets Dionysus? ? Helios in chariot Zodiac signs Zodiac signs Labours of the months Sirens? Eagles? Wind Four seasons Zodiac signs Fishes, dolphins flanking vase Helios, Selene Zodiac signs Four winds Mother Earth Helios Helios, Selene Labours of the Months Four seasons Zodiac signs Four seasons Labours of the Months — meant to facilitate as a horoscopic aid’. Engelrad (2000: 42-48) contends that the synagogue mosaics filled a didactic function; the zodiac on these synagogues’ mosaic pavements served as a visual reminder to the Jewish worshippers of the eternal covenant made by God with the Davidic dynasty and the priests. It is directly connected, in her opinion, with the other ritual objects depicted in other panels in these synagogues and expresses the longing for the revival of Israel and the restoration of the Temple. Talgam (2000: 101, 104) agrees with the interpretation of the zodiac as a calendar but also with the suggestion that the zodiac symbolizes the connection with the ceremony of declaring the new moon. Magness (2005: 49-50) proposes “that Helios and the zodiac cycle symbolized sacred time and sacred space.” Scholars found in the zodiac design at Hammath Tiberias links with the publication of the rules for determining the Hebrew calendar by Hillel II in the 4th century CE (Dothan 1967: 134; 1983: 47-49; Sternberg 1972: 72-87; Levine 2003: 110-114). The most plausible interpretation for the combination of sun god– zodiac signs–seasons design is that the Jewish zodiac mosaic functioned as a calendar (Hachlili 1977: 72-76; 2002: 234-235); Avi-Yonah (1964: 56-57) suggested it in connection with the list of the priestly courses. The portrayal of the zodiac-calendar had three obligatory sections: (1) the sun god, symbolizing the day—the night being denoted by the background of the moon and stars; (2) the twelve signs of the zodiac, representing the months; (3)
the four seasons, representing the year. According to the Jewish calendar the twelve months correspond exactly to the stations of the zodiac. The earliest listing of all the Jewish calendar months in succession (whose names are Babylonian in origin) appears in Megillath Ta‘anith (probably 1st- 2nd century CE); the Roman Julian calendar does not correspond exactly to the zodiac (Johnson 1968: 19; Schürer et al. 1973, I: 587; Herr 1976: 837-839). Jewish tradition has many references to the zodiac signs as monthly representations. Explicit evidence of this correlation and additional support for this interpretation are provided by the Sepphoris synagogue mosaic, which displays the names of the months in addition to the names of the zodiac signs. Further endorsement is the late 6th-century ‘En Gedi synagogue mosaic inscription (pl. III.4c), which contains the names of the zodiac signs, followed by their corresponding months (Mazar 1970; Barag et al 1981). The tradition is preserved in later literature, such as in Ha-Kalir’s poems, where the names of months are parallel to the zodiac signs (Avi-Yonah 1964: 55; Mirsky 1971). The ‘En Gedi inscription also proves that even in the late 6th century the Jewish year started with Nisan (and its zodiac sign Taleh), the first month of the spring. The zodiac depiction at Beth "Alpha indicates as much by adding the letter vav (‘and’) to both Deli (Aquarius) and Dagim (Pisces), thereby designating them the last signs of the zodiac; this in fact attests that the next zodiac sign, Taleh (Aries) for the month of Nisan, is the beginning of the year. The ‘En Gedi written inscription must have replaced the illustrated zodiac mosaic during this later period; the images of the Na#aran floor might have been damaged at this same time. In the Roman world zodiac signs are of cosmic and astronomical significance, whereas in Christian art, as in Roman, the calendar is sometimes represented by the Labours of the Months. Jewish art used the same form of the radial design and outer spandrels, rendered the same three components of the zodiac circle, and transformed it into a Jewish calendar by marking the signs and the seasons with their Hebrew names. At Sepphoris the Hebrew names of the months were added, and at Beth "Alpha the signs were given some unique interpretations. Jewish art preferred an abstract 5 The 2nd-3rd century mosaic floor at Hellin in Spain (see note 3) is an example of a calendar mosaic which is the zodiac panel and its significance 55 and symbolic zodiac, rather than the naturalistic representation of human activity depicted on the Roman or Christian examples, to safeguard the religious nature of the calendar. The Jewish community adapted the Roman calendar, a pagan subject, which contained either the zodiac signs or the Labours of the Months, and modified it according to their needs, to convey the Jewish image of an annual calendar. 3 The radial composition evidently conveys a visual, figured calendar by placing a circle of zodiac signs, representing the months, around the central figure of the sun god accompanied by the moon and stars, embodying day and night, and allocated the seasons in the four corners of the panel; the whole scheme conveys and illustrates the year. In conclusion, in these synagogue pavements the Jewish zodiac-calendar, the form, composition, and balance of the three-part scheme are identical, suggesting the existence of a prototype for the general design. The Jewish zodiac-calendar is unique, however, in its balanced and harmonious conflation of the three parts. The basic design of the Jewish calendar is probably drawn from the Antioch school. The likeness to Roman mosaic calendars rendered with the Labours of the Months is perceived in the circular form and in the addition of inscribed names of months and seasons (see Antioch, Carthage, and the Beth She"an monastery mosaics), whereas names are lacking in circular zodiac representations at Astypalaea, Münster, and Sparta. The design has its roots in the art of the preceding period with the two major schemes, which are part of the Jewish calendar: the astronomical zodiac and the agricultural calendar. The Jewish model unified these two into the distinctive design of the seasons, zodiac signs, and sun god, signifying a liturgical calendar. When the synagogue replaced the Temple, the annual ritual acts, performed previously by the priests, came to be represented symbolically in synagogue art. The calendar became the frame of the annual rites, now enacted by the community. Thus, it was guaranteed a central location in synagogue mosaic floors. The zodiac panel design, which occurs on these synagogue mosaic pavements widely separated in space and time, was apparently chosen from a conceptually close to the idea of the Jewish mosaic calendar, adapted by the Jews for their special purposes.
Page 2 and 3:
294 glossary
Page 5 and 6:
Ψ ή φ ο ς ס פ י ס פ Ancie
Page 7 and 8:
contents To my beloved granddaughte
Page 9 and 10:
contents CONTENTS List of Color Pla
Page 11 and 12:
contents C Pastoral and Rural Scene
Page 13 and 14:
list of color plates xi LIST OF COL
Page 15 and 16:
list of color plates xiii V.4 Nilom
Page 17 and 18:
list of color plates xv Mt. Nebo; g
Page 19 and 20:
list of color plates xvii Authority
Page 21 and 22:
list of figures xix LIST OF FIGURES
Page 23 and 24:
list of figures xxi Figure IV-15. D
Page 25 and 26:
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 and 78: The Summer attributes, the sickle a
Page 79 and 80: Table III-1. Comparative chart of t
Page 81 and 82: Figure III-12. Part of a stone ceil
Page 83: A Roman villa at Odos Triakosion in
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
Page 129 and 130: iconographic elements of nilotic sc
Page 131 and 132: I.1 Masada mosaic pavements: a. ant
Page 133 and 134: I.3 Jerusalem, Upper City, pavement
Page 135 and 136:
II.1 Torah shrine panels on synagog
Page 137 and 138:
II.3 Comparable shrines on Jordan m
Page 139 and 140:
III.1 Hammath Tiberias synagogue zo
Page 141 and 142:
III.3 Beth "Alpha synagogue zodiac
Page 143 and 144:
III.5 Sun God on synagogue pavement
Page 145 and 146:
III.7 Zodiac signs on synagogue pav
Page 147 and 148:
III.9 Zodiac signs on synagogue pav
Page 149 and 150:
III.11 The four seasons on synagogu
Page 151 and 152:
IV.1 Binding of Isaac on synagogue
Page 153 and 154:
IV.3 David-Orpheus on the Gaza syna
Page 155 and 156:
IV.5 The Orpheus mosaic, Jerusalem.
Page 157 and 158:
IV.7 Sepphoris synagogue, The Conse
Page 159 and 160:
V.1 Nilotic scene at Beth Leontis,
Page 161 and 162:
V.3 Nilotic scene at Sepphoris Nile
Page 163 and 164:
eagle. Another Nilotic scene appear
Page 165 and 166:
shown standing on the river bank as
Page 167 and 168:
The depiction of a putto riding a c
Page 169 and 170:
Table V.1. Nilotic Elements on Byza
Page 171 and 172:
Nile Festival mosaic, with the addi
Page 173 and 174:
The ‘inhabited scroll’ became o
Page 175 and 176:
donkey. Lively animal chase scenes
Page 177 and 178:
naturalistic in execution, and unli
Page 179 and 180:
which contains objects flanked by s
Page 181 and 182:
Figure VI-7. Group II: Jerusalem, t
Page 183 and 184:
the outer ones; the second survivin
Page 185 and 186:
Table VI-1a. Composition and Repert
Page 187 and 188:
Group III consists of the mosaics e
Page 189 and 190:
the ‘inhabited scrolls’ mosaic
Page 191 and 192:
Figure VI-13. Beth She"an, Monaster
Page 193 and 194:
Figure VI-15. Sede Nahum mosaic fra
Page 195 and 196:
Table VI-2a. (Cont.) Mosaic Date ce
Page 197 and 198:
Table VI-2b. (Cont.) Mosaic Date ce
Page 199 and 200:
In the south aisle of St. George ch
Page 201 and 202:
four amphorae in the centre of the
Page 203 and 204:
On Jordanian mosaics, in the acanth
Page 205 and 206:
to have grapes of both styles (pl.
Page 207 and 208:
ightly observes that the different
Page 209 and 210:
grape harvesting, pastoral, and hun
Page 211 and 212:
Rural activities and pastoral scene
Page 213 and 214:
Table VII.1. Vintage scenes on vine
Page 215 and 216:
Figures Treading Grapes and the Pre
Page 217 and 218:
The forerunners for these vintage s
Page 219 and 220:
Snake and Mongoose Confrontation Th
Page 221 and 222:
Table VII.2. Animal chase and comba
Page 223 and 224:
iconographic aspects of rural life
Page 225 and 226:
scenes are found in the mid-5th- to
Page 227 and 228:
Table VII.3. Big Game Hunting scene
Page 229 and 230:
Page 231 and 232:
likewise surround the basin of the
Page 233 and 234:
Page 235 and 236:
Page 237 and 238:
the cathedral at Madaba (Piccirillo
Page 239 and 240:
443, 455-6, 466) holds that this ty
Page 241 and 242:
Personification is a common theme o
Page 243 and 244:
Rivers of Paradise, but only two of
Page 245 and 246:
irds, apparently created by the Fou
Page 247 and 248:
in an intercolumnar space (Church o
Page 249 and 250:
the seasons with deliberate differe
Page 251 and 252:
personification of natural forces 1
Page 253 and 254:
crook Spring’s attribute at the B
Page 255 and 256:
personification of natural forces 1
Page 257 and 258:
while in mosaics of the Greek East
Page 259 and 260:
Moon, as the partner of Sun, is a b
Page 261 and 262:
Animals in a repeated antithetic sy
Page 263 and 264:
designs of symmetrical antithetic a
Page 265 and 266:
(Ovadiah 1987: 105) and at the Naha
Page 267 and 268:
a bear, a lion and a destroyed anim
Page 269 and 270:
long-horned deer drinking from a sp
Page 271 and 272:
iconoclasm on mosaic pavements of s
Page 273 and 274:
Page 275 and 276:
Page 277 and 278:
Page 279 and 280:
Page 281 and 282:
A significant subject in ancient ar
Page 283 and 284:
These compositions with division in
Page 285 and 286:
frequent ornamentation of the synag
Page 287 and 288:
(Ovadiah 1987: 68): A cross within
Page 289 and 290:
Some scholars propose that depictio
Page 291 and 292:
V.5 City representations: a. Beth L
Page 293 and 294:
V.7 The sail boat: a. Beth Leontis,
Page 295 and 296:
VI.1 Gaza synagogue pavement.
Page 297 and 298:
VI.3 Jerusalem ‘Armenian’ churc
Page 299 and 300:
VI.6-8 Petra Church: North Aisle mo
Page 301 and 302:
VI.8
Page 303 and 304:
VI.10 The church of the Deacon Thom
Page 305 and 306:
VI.12 Amphorae depicted on inhabite
Page 307 and 308:
VI.14 Bird of prey on inhabited vin
Page 309 and 310:
VI.16 Baskets on inhabited vine scr
Page 311 and 312:
VI.18 Vine leaves and bunches of gr
Page 313 and 314:
VI.20 Subdued animals: a. Be’er S
Page 315 and 316:
VII.2 Transporting grapes: a. El Ha
Page 317 and 318:
VII.4 Flute player: a. Beth She’a
Page 319 and 320:
VII.6 Snake and mongoose confrontat
Page 321 and 322:
VII.8 Dog chasing hare/rabbit on ch
Page 323 and 324:
Inhabited Vine Scrolls Pavements A
Page 325 and 326:
similar in the general depiction of
Page 327 and 328:
etween synagogue and church 233 Fig
Page 329 and 330:
part are evidently connected: almos
Page 331 and 332:
etween synagogue and church 237 Fig
Page 333 and 334:
Mukhayyat (Bagatti 1949: 99, pl. 29
Page 335 and 336:
time. They might have contained gen
Page 337 and 338:
Artists, workshops and schools of m
Page 339 and 340:
• The same artisans are mentioned
Page 341 and 342:
1933: 146, No. 23, 8; 1934: 73 =198
Page 343 and 344:
characteristically mixed origin of
Page 345 and 346:
The Sepphoris Mosaicists The Seppho
Page 347 and 348:
on horseback spearing a leopard wit
Page 349 and 350:
Odysseus fighting the monster Scyll
Page 351 and 352:
Figure XII-6. Hall A mosaic, Monast
Page 353 and 354:
mosaicists, workshops, and the repe
Page 355 and 356:
Dating The Monastery was dated by i
Page 357 and 358:
Page 359 and 360:
connections with Egypt, and perhaps
Page 361 and 362:
Page 363 and 364:
different themes based on comparabl
Page 365 and 366:
esults were mosaics in the old Diak
Page 367 and 368:
Jews toartists and craftsmen. Among
Page 369 and 370:
epeated use was supplemented by fre
Page 371 and 372:
Page 373 and 374:
of designs from general pattern boo
Page 375 and 376:
concluding remarks, comments, and o
Page 377 and 378:
Page 379 and 380:
Page 381 and 382:
Page 383 and 384:
list of sites 289 LIST OF SITES Sit
Page 385 and 386:
Site Date Centuries CE Jordan (Arab
Page 387 and 388:
VII.10 Jabaliyah Diakonikon mosaic
Page 389 and 390:
VII.12 Hunter/soldier on foot with
Page 391 and 392:
VII.14 Feline with cub: a. Gaza syn
Page 393 and 394:
VII.16 Shepherd: a. Be’er Shem‘
Page 395 and 396:
VII.18 Figure leading camel: a. Kis
Page 397 and 398:
VII.20 Fishing: a. Beth Loya, two e
Page 399 and 400:
VIII.2 Seasons: a. Caesarea: Spring
Page 401 and 402:
VIII.4 Beth She’an monastery, Hal
Page 403 and 404:
IX.2 Flanking birds: a. Beth Shean,
Page 405 and 406:
IX.4 a. Huseifa, unidentical menoro
Page 407 and 408:
X.2 Susiya synagogue: a. panel Tora
Page 409 and 410:
X.4 Jabaliyah church, north aisle.
Page 411 and 412:
XI.2 Crosses on mosaic pavements: a
Page 413 and 414:
XI.4 Tabgha, Church of the Multipli
Page 415 and 416:
XII.2
Page 417 and 418:
XII.4 Beth Leontis, Beth She’an:
Page 419 and 420:
XII.6 Similarities between animals:
Page 421 and 422:
XII.8 Similarities between animals
Page 423 and 424:
glossary 293 GLOSSARY Aedicula Ston
Page 425 and 426:
list of sites 295 ABBREVIATIONS ACR
Page 427 and 428:
Abel, F. M. 1924 Décourvertes réc
Page 429 and 430:
1969 Antike Mosaiken in Kilikien, I
Page 431 and 432:
2001 The Nilometer, in Measuting an
Page 433 and 434:
The Art of Byzantium and the Mediev
Page 435 and 436:
1995 The Activity of the Mosaicists
Page 437 and 438:
1971 The Secret of the ‘En Gedi I
show all

Untitled

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?