User:Natalieharder15/Floor Mosaic with Goddess Artemis

Floor Mosaic with Goddess Artemis


Floor Mosaic with Goddess Artemis is a limestone floor mosaic by an unknown artisan dates from AD 400-500. It depicts the goddess Artemis or Diana as she was know in Roman tradition. This floor mosaic shows the Early Byzantine taste for intricate and colourful designs. This mosaicist employed a subtle range of coloured tesserae (stones) to achieve the desired effect. The use of light, medium and dark brown tesserae in flesh suggest volume and highlights and showdown indicate folds in her chiton (tunic)

Subject Matter
Artemis is the the goddess of wilderness, wild animals, the hunt and fertility. In this image she is show, as she often was, carrying wearing a short tunic and flat sandals and carrying a bow and arrow. She is often set amongst a forest but in this mosiac she is in a indoor setting as two columns flank her either side. A tapestry or wall hanging with a flower pattern connects her to the wilderness. crown

Classical Mythology
Images from Classical Mythology remained popular in Byzantine art even though Christianty was the official religion. Byzantine art developed out of the art of the Roman Empire, which was itself profoundly influenced by ancient Greek art. Byzantine art never lost sight of this classical heritage. The Byzantine capital, Constantinople, was adorned with a large number of classical sculptures, although they eventually became an object of some puzzlement for its inhabitants.

This is a draft article for the ROM's Wikipedia Hub .