Mosaics of the Greek and Roman World

Mosaics of the Greek and Roman World
Author: Katherine M. D. Dunbabin
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 412
Release: 1999
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 9780521002301

This book provides a comprehensive account of mosaics in the ancient world from the early pebble mosaics of Greece to the pavements of Christian churches in the East. Separate chapters in Part I cover the principal regions of the Roman Empire in turn, in order to bring out the distinctive characteristics of their mosaic workshops. Questions of technique and production, of the role of mosaics in architecture, and of their social functions and implications are treated in Part II. The book discusses both well-known works and recent finds, and balances consideration of exceptional masterpieces against standard workshop production. Two main lines of approach are followed throughout: first, the role of mosaics as a significant art form, which over an unbroken span illuminates the evolution of pictorial style better than any comparable surviving medium; and secondly, their character as works of artisan production closely linked to their architectural context.

The Eerdmans Encyclopedia of Early Christian Art and Archaeology

The Eerdmans Encyclopedia of Early Christian Art and Archaeology
Author: Finney
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Total Pages: 822
Release: 2017
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 0802890164

One of the most widely respected theological dictionaries put into one-volume, abridged form. Focusing on the theological meaning of each word, the abridgment contains English keywords for each entry, tables of English and Greek keywords, and a listing of the relevant volume and page numbers from the unabridged work at the end of each article or section.

Patrons and Viewers in Late Antiquity

Patrons and Viewers in Late Antiquity
Author: Stine Birk
Publisher: Aarhus Universitetsforlag
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2012-12-12
Genre: History
ISBN: 8771244174

Antiquity was a multi-cultural and multi-religious world. Meetings and interactions between cultures in East and West, and the consequent widespread exchange of ideas had an enormous impact on cultural practices and the creation of identities. These cultural diversities are reflected by both the archaeological material and the written sources. Patrons of luxurious buildings, elaborate grave monuments, and churches used architecture and images to demonstrate political, social and religious power. These buildings and their embellishment with sculpture, mosaics and paintings were strong factors in communicating identity and attitudes both in the public and private spheres. The continuous production of mythological sculpture and mosaics coexisted, sometimes peacefully other times with violent consequences, with an increasing influence from new philosophical mind sets originating in the East, such as Christianity. In this period of rapid social and religious change new patrons appeared, such as bishops, who were responsible for the construction of churches commemorating the Christian triumph. The seminar focuses on the way patrons, pagan as well as Christian, conveyed messages through material culture and the responses of the viewers.

Housing in Late Antiquity

Housing in Late Antiquity
Author: Luke Lavan
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 556
Release: 2007
Genre: Art
ISBN: 9004162283

This collection of papers, arising from the conference series Late Antique Archaeology, examines the housing in the late antique period, through thematic and regional syntheses, complemented by cases studies and two bibliographic essays.

The Archaeology of Byzantine Anatolia

The Archaeology of Byzantine Anatolia
Author: Philipp Niewohner
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 481
Release: 2017-03-17
Genre: Literary Collections
ISBN: 019066262X

This book accounts for the tumultuous period of the fifth to eleventh centuries from the Fall of Rome and the collapse of the Western Roman Empire through the breakup of the Eastern Roman Empire and loss of pan-Mediterranean rule, until the Turks arrived and seized Anatolia. The volume is divided into a dozen syntheses that each addresses an issue of intrigue for the archaeology of Anatolia, and two dozen case studies on single sites that exemplify its richness. Anatolia was the only major part of the Roman Empire that did not fall in late antiquity; it remained steadfast under Roman rule through the eleventh century. Its personal history stands to elucidate both the emphatic impact of Roman administration in the wake of pan-Mediterranean collapse. Thanks to Byzantine archaeology, we now know that urban decline did not set in before the fifth century, after Anatolia had already be thoroughly Christianized in the course of the fourth century; we know now that urban decline, as it occurred from the fifth century onwards, was paired with rural prosperity, and an increase in the number, size, and quality of rural settlements and in rural population; that this ruralization was halted during the seventh to ninth centuries, when Anatolia was invaded first by the Persians, and then by the Arabs---and the population appears to have sought shelter behind new urban fortifications and in large cathedrals. Further, it elucidates that once the Arab threat had ended in the ninth century, this ruralization set in once more, and most cities seem to have been abandoned or reduced to villages during the ensuing time of seeming tranquility, whilst the countryside experienced renewed prosperity; that this trend was reversed yet again, when the Seljuk Turks appeared on the scene in the eleventh century, devastated the countryside and led to a revival and refortification of the former cities. This dynamic historical thread, traced across its extremes through the lens of Byzantine archaeology, speaks not only to the torrid narrative of Byzantine Anatolia, but to the enigmatic medievalization.

Aphrodisias Papers

Aphrodisias Papers
Author: Charlotte Roueché
Publisher:
Total Pages: 236
Release: 1996
Genre: Aphrodisias (Extinct city)
ISBN: