Piazza Armerina. The So-Called Personifications of Mauretania and India at Each End of the Great Hunt Portico

Abstract

What is the meaning of the images in the apses on the Great Hunt Corridor? Are the personifications in the center of the two mosaics alluding to geographical entities, as has been the case put forward so far? If so, this begs the question “which ones?”. The analysis of each pavement is followed up by a short round-up and discussion of current hypotheses. By taking support from a set of iconographical and textual parallels, we have sought to achieve a better understanding of these images. Lastly, we provide some insights to show how these mosaics fit into the decorative program of the Great Hunt corridor to which they pertain.