In the late 2nd century BC, a floor in Delos, Greece, marked a turning point for Roman art. Archaeologists date these early tessellated pavements to roughly half of all known examples from that era. Before this moment, artisans used simple pebbles or chips of stone to create rough images on floors at sites like Olynthus and Pella. The transition began in Hellenistic-Greek Sicily during the 3rd century BC. Workers there developed complex tessellated mosaics at locations such as Morgantina and Syracuse. By the time Pompeii entered its First Style period, artists had adopted figures from history and mythology rather than abstract designs. They removed lead strips and avoided three-dimensional scenes until the Second Style arrived between 80 and 20 BC. This evolution transformed mosaic work from decorative borders into narrative canvases.
Materials And Techniques
Artisans cut geometrical blocks called tesserae from local natural stone sources to build their designs. They added cut brick, tile, and pottery to create shades of blue, black, red, white, and yellow. Marble and glass appeared occasionally alongside small pebbles and precious metals like gold. Traces of guidelines found beneath some mosaics were either scored into or painted onto the mortar bedding. Designers might peg out patterns using string or mount them inside a wooden frame before setting them permanently. Polychrome patterns dominated the landscape, though monochrome examples exist within the surviving record. The collapse of buildings in antiquity paradoxically destroyed many works while simultaneously protecting others from weathering for centuries.Imagery And Iconography
The Alexander Mosaic from the House of the Faun in Pompeii depicts the Battle of Issus between Alexander the Great and Darius III around 100 BC. Artists frequently portrayed religious figures, theatrical scenes, mythological stories, and geometric labyrinth patterns across the empire. A gladiatorial scene known from Leptis Magna names each fighter involved in the combat. Roman portrait mosaics often depicted men and women with similar physical features or attire during the Imperial Period starting as early as 18 BC. Evidence for this practice appears on Denarii silver coins that portray the goddess Virtus with recognizable Augustan features. Scenes of Dionysus remain another common subject throughout the vast collection of surviving floor art.