Dance of the Four Seasons Mosaic, Ss. Giovanni e Paolo, Caelian Hill, Rome

Dance of the Four Seasons Mosaic, Ss. Giovanni e Paolo, Caelian Hill, Rome

Created in the late 3rd century, after the consolidation of this domus but before the arrival of the pious senator Pammachius and his wife, this mosaic, in the "Room of the Nude Genii," depicts the dance of the Four Seasons personified, surrounded by putti serenely gathering a harvest of grapes. This image, among others in this house on the Caelian Hill, best exemplifies how traditional, aristocratic Roman ideology, steeped in the benign concept of the agricultural wealth of nature, could be retained by early Christians. The need for this kind of shared Roman heritage was especially true, given the role of the aristocratic house as the presentation of their "public" Roman persona. Placed alongside the private devotional cult in the stairwell, Roman imagery such as this renders more multilayered the overall worldview of Roman Christians.

Ana Munk

Ana Munk. "Domestic Piety in Fourth Century Rome: A Relic Shrine Beneath the Church of Ss. Giovanni e Paolo." Hortus Artium Medievalium 15, no. 1. 2009.

2009

Photo taken by Ana Munk; non-commercial use permission granted