Floors, Architectural Elevations, and Statuary in Late Antique Residences from Egypt, Cyrenaica, and Cyprus: Some Remarks

Abstract

This paper is focused on the decoration of some late antique residences in Egypt, Cyrenaica, and Cyprus. All of them show common forms of self-presentation of urban elites across the eastern Mediterranean between the 4th and 6th centuries AD. The analysis is based on a global vision of social life in a world that was deeply influenced by a transition from old to new models and by forms of syncretism between various backgrounds which merged in new decorative systems. By recognising their owners’ cultural environment, associations between décor and power can be elucidated in a comparative study of the main elements of these luxury residences. In this context, Christianity is one of the principal issues to be taken into account, along with deep pagan roots of the aristocratic paideia during the investigated period. In fact, the specific choice of the iconographies in the mosaics or the subjects for the statues displayed in these houses can be understood only if contextualised against the spiritual life of the period. In the discussed residences, cultural identity is also manifested by forms of continuity in the architectural elevations. The fact that local traditions developed during the Hellenistic Period were still in use – both as reused building elements and as newly created decoration – can be interpreted as a manifestation of the antiquity and prestige of the families who owned the dwellings. These phenomena are studied through a review of the contexts and their comparative analysis in order to highlight similar developments and their meanings.