A mosaic is worth a thousand words.
In his second visit to UT, Glen Bowersock, a renowned classicist and former Princeton professor, discussed the imagery of two ancient, Palestinian mosaics and their historical implications at Hodges Auditorium on Monday afternoon as part of the Humanities Center Distinguished Lecture Series.
Citing recurring images from other mosaics of the same time period, Bowersock was able to use meaningful religious symbols to piece together a theory on what life in ancient Palestine was like.
“The mosaics at Kefar ‘Othnay and Lod, of approximately the same date, afford together … an unprecedented glimpse into the complexity of pre-Constantinian Christianity in Palestine,” Bowersock said.
The Kefar ‘Othnay mosaic, which contains an image of two fish and an inscription dedicating a table to “God Jesus Christ,” is, as Bowerstock claimed, unambiguously Christian, and is one of the earliest examples of a Christian gathering to date.
However, the Lod mosaic, which contains no human images or identifying text, can be interpreted only through the visual clues hidden in the mosaic itself.
Several symbols include both peaceful and aggressive animals, doves, fish and craters — large vases used for mixing wine.
Bowersock and his colleagues, who are likewise dedicated to the study of the mosaics, compared these images to similar symbols used during the same time period that indicate Judaic, Christian and African influences.
“He’s able to read out of it, at least, the suggestion of multiple different religious meanings of the same objects,” said Christine Shepardson, a professor in the Religious Studies Department who focuses on early Christianity. “The same images allow us to see how people could live side by side with each other in a way that’s a little more tolerant than we might imagine.”
While the Kefar ‘Othnay mosaic was commissioned by a Roman centurion, the Lod mosaic, a much more elaborate work, is a “masterpiece” that may have been commissioned by a very wealthy member of the community.
The open representation of various religious symbols, combined with the fact that people from different backgrounds and economic classes commissioned the works, point to a peaceful and prosperous interpretation of ancient Palestine.
“The miracle of Palestine in this period is that it was remarkably harmonious,” Bowersock said. “It was the kind of peace that the region has never seen since.”
After Bowersock’s lecture, Shepardson recognized the value in using physical materials to create a picture of everyday life in the past.
“Textual scholars, like myself, often don’t remember to go looking at the material evidence that is available,” she said. “(They) can add such richness to our understanding of the world.”
