The Sundial and Convivium Scene from the Rescue Excavation in a Late Antique House of Antioch

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ADALYA
NO. XIX / 2016 ISSN 1301-2746
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Hande Bulut
Karain Mağarası Örnekleri Işığında Bark Extractor (Ağaç Kabuğu Soyucu):
Yeni Bir Öneri ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 1
Emma L. Baysal
Beadwork in a Basket: An Ornamental Item from the Final Halaf Level of
Mersin Yumuktepe ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 17
Gonca Dardeniz
Cultic Symbolism at the City Gates: Two Metal Foundation Pegs from Tell Atchana,
Alalakh (Turkey) ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 31
S. Gökhan Tiryaki
Demir Çağ Milyas Mezarlıkları ve Ölü-Gömme Gelenekleri Üzerine Bir Ön-Değerlendirme ...... 51
Pınar Bursa Sturtevant
Eskiçağ’da Anadolu’nun Güney ve Batısında Yer Alan Bölgelerde Balık ve Balıkçılık ...................... 75
Laura Slatkin
Sophocles’ Antigone and the Paradoxes of Language ...................................................................................................... 95
Hüseyin Sami Öztürk
Myra’dan Lykia Birliği Rahibi Platon ile Ailesinin Onurlandırılması ............................................................ 103
Ebru N. Akdoğu Arca
Lykia’ya Özgü Bir Kavram Olarak Sitometroumenoi Andres’i Plinius’un X,
116/117. Mektupları Işığında Yeniden Değerlendirme ................................................................................................ 115
Murat Tozan
Some Remarks on the Date of Caesar’s Capture by Cilician Pirates ................................................................ 133
Hakan Öniz
Demre Beymelek Gölü’nde Sualtında Kalmış Liman ve Yapı Formları ........................................................ 151
Işıl R. Işıklıkaya-Laubscher
Perge Mozaik Atölyeleri ve Akdeniz Havzası Mozaik Ekolleri İçerisindeki Yeri .................................... 169
Mark Wilson
Saint Paul in Pamphylia: Intention, Arrival, Departure ........................................................................................... 229
Hatice Pamir – Nilüfer Sezgin
The Sundial and Convivium Scene on the Mosaic from the Rescue Excavation in a
Late Antique House of Antioch ......................................................................................................................................................... 251

İçindekilerIV
Elmon Hançer
Kilikya Ermeni Prensliği’nin İkinci Başkenti Anavarza ............................................................................................ 281
Cemal Bali Akal
Rencontres Méditerranéennes autour de Spinoza.
Asaf Hâlet, Pessoa, Calvino… et l’inconnue Maria Barbas .................................................................................... 313
Marko Kiessel – Sevinç Kurt – Yasemin Mesda
The Abandoned Khan of Louroujina, Cyprus: A Case Study of a Vanishing Building Type ....... 323
Erin L. Thompson
J. Paul Getty’s Motivations for Collecting Antiquities ..................................................................................................... 349
Kemal Reha Kavas
Akdeniz Yaylalarında Transhümant Mekân Örüntülerinin Karşılaştırmalı Analizi:
Belgeler Işığında Antalya (Türkiye) ve Abruzzo (İtalya) ........................................................................................... 367
François Hartog
La présence du témoin ............................................................................................................................................................................ 397

ADALYA XIX, 2016
The Sundial and Convivium Scene on the Mosaic from
the Rescue Excavation in a Late Antique House of Antioch
Hatice PAMİR – Nilüfer SEZGİN*
Introduction
During the rescue excavation carried out at İplik Pazarı in 2013 in the modern quarter of
Antakya (ancient Antioch) by archaeologists D. Kara and B. Demir from the Hatay Archaeology
Museum, a partially surviving figural floor mosaic was discovered1. Only the eastern part of the
figural mosaic floor has survived while the rest was destroyed. The mosaic panel is bordered
by a frame and consists of three intact yet different scenes. In the center is a sundial, a male
figure with the inscription Trekhedeipnos, and another male figure at his back with the inscrip-
tion Akairos. A slightly reclining skeleton and the inscription Euphrosynos is depicted in the
next panel, while the head of an African figure holding a double stick is in the third panel. The
sundial theme is a subject seen previously in Antioch mosaics2; however, the skeleton depic-
tion is viewed for the first time. The panel has a uniqueness both in its subject and its different
style, and brings novelty to the Antioch mosaic repertoire.
Antioch has long been a fascinating subject, due to its intellectual institutions and cultural
richness beginning from its foundation in 300 B.C. and running through the Late Antique pe-
riod. It has been called ‘the fair crown of the East’3. Levi gives Antioch a special status as a
place where the civilizations, thoughts and arts of East and West met4. Between the years 1932-
1939, numerous mosaic floors reflecting the influence of Hellenistic culture were discovered in
the excavations in Antioch and its surroundings5. Rich merchants and rulers lived in Antioch,
* Doç. Dr. Hatice Pamir, Mustafa Kemal Universitesi, Fen Edebiyat Fakültesi, Arkeoloji Bölümü, Klasik Arkeoloji
Anabilim Dalı, Tayfur Sökmen Kampüsü, Antakya Hatay. E-mail: haticepamir@gmail.com
Nilüfer Sezgin, Arkeolog, Hatay Arkeoloji Müzesi, Antakya Hatay. E-mail: nilufersezgin2012@gmail.com
1 Cordial thanks are due to D. Kara, Deputy Director of Hatay Arkeoloji Müzesi, for providing the data from the ex-
cavation. This study is based on data acquired from the excavation conducted by the Hatay Archeology Museum.
I would like to express my thanks to the museum for providing the permission and contributions required dur-
ing the preparation of the article. The literature study of the mosaic has been carried out with the Scientific and
Technological Research Council of Turkey’s (TÜBİTAK) research scholarship abroad, No: 2219/1(1059B191300484)
at the Universite Paris-8 and CNRS/ENS Archéologie et Philologie d’Orient et d’Occident – AOROC, where I am
on official duty. I would like to thank Prof. Dr. B. Casu, Université Paris-Sorbonne (Paris IV); Prof. Dr. C. Saliou,
Universite Paris-8; and J.-P. Sodini, Emeritus Professor (Paris IV) for their comments on the inscriptions.
2 Levi 1947, 220-221; Antioch on the Orontes vol. II, 202, no. 963, pl. 75; Cimok 2000, 191-193.
3 Amm. Marc. 22.9.14. Downey 1961 is a primary source for the period from the foundation of Antioch to the Arabian
occupation.
4 Levi 1947, 1.
5 This has been published as a corpus with over 300 mosaic floors; see Levi 1947.

252 Hatice Pamir – Nilüfer Sezgin
Seleucia Pieria (Samandağ-Çevlik), and Daphne (Harbiye), and the floors of many of their
houses were paved with mosaics whose scenes depicted literary, theatrical and mythological
subjects taken from the epics and tragedies of Classical and Hellenistic literature6.
Among these mosaic floors, the mosaic pavement at the Daphne Iphigenia House, with its
scenic representation inspired by one of the highest creations of Hellenic literature, depicts
the staging of Euripides’ tragedy at the Iphigenia Aulis7. The mosaic panel at the Daphne
Menander House depicts the new comedy writer Menander and a hetaira named Glykera8.
The mosaic floor recently unearthed at Daphne depicts Menander’s Peirikomene’s 1st scene,
Philadelphoi’s 1st scene, Synaristosai’s 1st scene and Theophoroumene’s 1st scene. The writer
himself and his plays9 are subjects directly transferred from literary works.
These subjects of the mosaic floor pavements in Antioch’s Late Antique houses reflect the
inspiration of Hellenic literature, despite the fact that a 500 year period had passed, and draw
attention to a society which adopted Hellenistic culture and kept it alive.
Archeological Documentation, Iconography, Style and Technique
The rescue excavation were carried out in Affan Mahallesi, which is one of the old quarters of
Antakya10, at the site called İplik Pazarı located 119 m. east of Affan Avenue, modern Kurtuluş
Caddesi, which has formed the main axis of the city since its foundation. The excavation was
carried out in nine squares in a 10x10 m. area occupied by modern houses (Fig. 1)11.
The excavation area is situated on the western slope of Silpios Mountain (modern Habib-i
Neccar) in an area which slopes naturally from east to west. West of the excavation is Güngör
Caddesi, which is 114 m. away from Kurtuluş Caddesi and extends parallel to it in a southeast-
northwest direction. North of the excavation is Selçuk Caddesi, which vertically intersects with
Kurtuluş Caddesi in an east-west direction. The excavation partially fits with the grid plan
which has been preserved since the Hellenistic Period12.
6 Levi 1947, 15-24: the Atrium House, Judgment of Paris, Aphrodite and Adonis, Heracles and Dionysus; Levi
1947, 68-88: in the panel named the Mosaic of Seasons found in the Yakto House is Meleager Atalanta, Phaedra,
Hippolytus, Io and Argos, Farewell to Adonis, Andromache and Astyanax; Levi 1947, 60-64: Narcissus Echo and
Eros came from the Narcissus House; Levi 1947, 141-148: Dionysus and Ariadne from Seleucia Pieria; Levi 1947,
117-119: House of the Man of the Letters – Ninus and Semiramis from the Lower Level, Metiochos and Parthenope;
Levi 1947, 167-190: Boat of the Psyches: Europa and the Bull, Pegasus and Nymphae, Agros and Opora, Lykurgos;
Levi 1947, 195-197: the House of Aion, Farewell to Briseis, Aion and Chronoi; Levi 1947, 163-165: the House of
Mysteries of Isis; Levi 1947, 127-131: House of the Buffet Supper, Ganymedes and the Eagle.
7 Levi 1947, 120-126, pls. 21a, 22; Cimok 2000, 106-107; Campbell 1988, 56, pl. 167.
8 Levi 1947, 198-211: House of Menander; Kondoleon 2000, 74-76.
9 Gutzwiller – Çelik 2012, 573-623; Wissowa 1931, 707 ff. Menander was one of the most important poets of Athenian
New Comedia who lived from 341/42-290 B.C. He wrote over one hundred comedies. It is not certain how many
of his works have survived; however, in the 11th century A.D. twenty three existed in Constantinople. His only
entire surviving work is Dyskolos. His other known and important works are Hero, Epitrepontes, Peirikomene,
Samia, Synoristosai, Sikyonioi and Theophoroumene.
10 Epiphaneia was the fourth quarter of Antioch established by Antiochus Epiphanes (215-164 B.C.), and ‘Epiphaneia’
was transliterated as ‘Affan’ into Arabic during medieval times.
11 The rescue excavation was conducted by the museum for the cable car station, construction of which was planned
by the Antakya Municipality.
12 For the city plan and its evolution since the foundation of the city in the Hellenistic period, its transformation and
the preserved city plan in modern Antakya, see Sauvaget 1934, 81-116; Weulersse 1934, 27-79; Pinon 2004, 191-
219; Demir 2004, 221-238.

253The Sundial and Convivium Scene on the Mosaic from the Rescue Excavation in a Late Antique House ...
The excavation began at an altitude of 93.56 m. above sea level, the modern settlement
level, and was carried out between this level and 89.16 m., which is the lowest level in the
north-west side. A total of four mosaic floor pavements of a house were discovered from
91.04 m. to 90.17 m. These consist of a white-colored mosaic pavement (M1) at 90.87 m. in the
B2-C2 grid squares, a mosaic pavement containing figural panels (M2) at 90.17 m. in B2, a part
of a white-coloured mosaic pavement (M3) at 90.50 m. at the intersection of B2-3, and a very
small part of a white-colored mosaic floor pavement (M4) at 91.04 m. in B3. According to the
preliminary results of the excavation, there are multiple layers beginning from the present and
extending to the beginning of Late Antiquity13. The mosaic floors belong to different areas of
a single residence, whose seven areas could be identified and whose original plan has been
damaged due to later construction. In the areas numbered III, IV and V, the mosaic pavements
have partially survived (Figs. 2-3).
The mosaic floor with the figural theme (M2) is located in Room IV. The original plan of
the area had been damaged due to reconstruction and usage in later construction. The north-
ern, eastern and western walls of the area continued to be used, while the southern wall and
the inner walls, which cut the area in half, were rebuilt on top of the mosaic floor in later lev-
els. The area was separated into two areas – east and west – by the inner wall in later phases.
The inner wall, including spolia material such as rubble-fill and the threshold block of the
door, was seated directly on the mosaic floor (Fig. 6). On the western side of this wall, a drain-
age canal from an upper level passes from the center of the area, and on the western side of
the wall there is a figural mosaic pavement and a square pool joining it on the east (Fig. 5).
Mosaic floor pavement M4 was partially preserved and has been unearthed next to the in
situ eastern wall of Room IV. It was built on a layer filled with rubble and soil at 91.04 m.
It stands 0.87 m. above the M2 mosaic pavement. Access to the door on the eastern wall of
Room IV was closed in the later construction phase with rubble filling. A square well, built of
blocks, was discovered on the same level as Mosaic M4 in the eastern part of Room IV. A terra-
cotta pipeline for freshwater extended towards the well (Fig. 5). Mosaic pavement M4, the well
and the water supply installations show a later construction and usage phase of Room IV14.
The direction of the northern and eastern walls shows that the eastern part of Room IV was
reused without undergoing any changes. The upper level must have been shaped in the later
usage phase of the house.
The figurative mosaic pavement panel (M2) is located in the eastern part of Room IV and
extends along a north-west-south-east axis, making the viewing direction of the figures from
the west and north (Fig. 7). The eastern side of the panel connects with a shallow pool, and the
northern side of it connects with the in situ wall. While the northern wall was used in the later
period and extends along the same axis, the southern wall was damaged. The wall that belongs
to the later construction phase sits directly on the mosaic floor. However, the northern edge of
Mosaic M3 adjoins the southern wall and indicates the border of the southern wall of the previ-
ous construction phase. It does not have a door opening to the adjoining rooms to the south.
13 The excavation results will be published as a monograph by the Hatay Archaeology Museum with a contribution
by the material culture specialist from the excavation.
14 It is also a possibility that there was an inner court constructed in the upper level and connected with the figural
panel and pool. Wells in the Classical and Hellenistic-period Greek world were found in the courts of houses as
well as inner intermediate areas. See Nevett 2001, 100 for the well arrangement in the Halieis A house located in
the inner area on elevated ground and not in the court. The House with Mosaics from Eretria (109, IV) and the
house (111) show wells in the inner areas in addition to the well in the yard.

254 Hatice Pamir – Nilüfer Sezgin
The western part of Room IV was completely destroyed by later phases and the drainage
canal. In this area, only the western wall and the door opening have remained. The interior
space of the western part of Room IV was reduced by walls built inside it in later periods. The
floor of this part was possibly paved by mosaic that could have been completely destroyed
during later construction phases (Fig. 5).
The measurable width of the figural mosaic floor M2 (up until the later period wall which
sits on the mosaic floor in a north-south direction) is 4.41 m., and its width (until the later sep-
arating wall on the western side) is 2.60 m. The pool to the east of the mosaic pavement is at
a level of 90.31 m. and is 1.40x1.40 cm. and 0.20 m. deep. The pool’s inner face is coated with
red paint (Figs. 4-5). The plinthos arrangement, consisting of a quadrangle pedestal on the
right and left sides of the threshold of the pool connecting with the mosaic floor, gives rise to
the idea that there might have been a column there, although column pedestals and body parts
were not found here. The pool is located exactly on the central axis of the mosaic floor, and
there are no signs of any other arrangement on its right and left sides. On the eastern side of
the pool, the upper part of a vertical water pipeline was excavated. Behind the nymphaeum,
the water pipeline was documented as vertical in situ remains (Figs. 4-5). It was probably con-
nected with the nymphaeum and with the public water supply system, and must have been
connected with the pool. The pool or nymphaeum arrangement applied on one side of the
room was typical for floorplans of Antioch houses15. The pipe is 0.50 cm. higher and directed
upwards, and the rear walls of the pool must have been higher for this water to flow into the
pool and be arranged like a kind of nymphaeum16. The 4th century A.D. writer Libanius men-
tions the abundance of water in the city and praised the nymphaea in the houses of Antioch17
and the quality of the water18.
The house complexes discovered in the excavations at Antioch, Seleucia Pieria and Daphne
contain a pool, a so-called nymphaeum, on one side of the room, which was paved by figu-
ral mosaic panels and defined as a triclinium19. If the later rebuilding of Room IV is excluded,
the inner depth of the room, or triclinium, is 12x4.98 m. Stillwell, in his classification of the
Antioch houses, defines those which have a triclinium with a width of around 4.20 m. in the
3rd century as medium-sized triclinia20.
In the 3rd century A.D. houses, the triclinium consists of the units of the main dining room,
main hall, intermediary space and the nymphaeum, which consists of a small pool with water
and a fountain. Since the area between the main hall and the nymphaeum is separated with
columned passages, the intermediary space is defined as a portico21. The main hall of the din-
ing room was paved with mosaics with wide figurative emblema, and the floor of the interme-
diary area was covered with smaller mosaic panels that are the same width as the main area.
15 Stillwell 1961; Hales 2003, 211-217; Dobbins 2000, 51-62; Alpi 2007, 37-50; Morvillez 2007, 51-78.
16 See Hales 2003, 116, for fountain arrangements of this type. This type of fountain arrangement is also seen in the
atriums of the Pompeii houses.
17 Libanius Or. XI.244; Pamir – Yamaç 2012, 234; Lassus 1983, 207 ff.; Norman 2000, 58, n. 135, where it is indicated
that water was abundant and that it expressed luxury in terms of its distribution to houses in the Late Antique
world.
18 Libanius Or. XI.246.
19 Morvillez 2004, 276. An example of the triclinium which includes a pool arrangement in quadrangle form is the
House of Iphigenia; see Levi 1947, 66; House of Red Pavement see Levi 1947, 68; Stillwell 1961, 47-57.
20 Ariadne and Dionysus House from Seleucia Pieria. The 3rd century A.D. examples are from the House of the Boat
of Psyches from Daphne; see Stillwell 1961, 50. 55.
21 Dobbins 2000, 54.

255The Sundial and Convivium Scene on the Mosaic from the Rescue Excavation in a Late Antique House ...
In the triclinium of the ‘Drinking Contest House’ of Seleucia Pieria, the main hall opens onto
three passages, and the intermediary area’s mosaic floor is wide enough to cover the floor of
the main dining room. In the center is a figurative emblema, and on the two sides geometrical
figures were used. The figurative emblema constitutes the main axis of the way to the main
dining room as well22. The nymphaeum is adjacent to the intermediate space and is reached
through this passage23. The same plan is seen in the Menander House in Daphne (Harbiye)24
and in the House of the Boat of Psyches 25. The nymphaeum was arranged into three sections
to meet the width of the triclinium, which is the main hall26. The triclinium as a particular sec-
tion can be seen through each of the passages, or it can be arranged as a single niche located
on the main axis 27. The triclinium, columned portico or intermediate space, and the nymphae-
um plan scheme is a typical characteristic of the Antioch houses28.
Room IV – the large triclinium of the house complex – was divided by an inner wall in a
later phase. We can assume two possibilities for the inner plan of Room IV:
1. The eastern part with the figural panel still exists, indicating that it continues toward the
west. The western part of the mosaic pavement and the columned arrangement of the portico,
which was possibly between the eastern and western part of the main hall, was destroyed by
later building activities. In this possibility, the main hall must have had a large emblema, and
the portico had smaller panels, such as figural panel M2 (Fig. 8).
2. The other type of triclinium plan seen in the 3rd century A.D. Antioch houses such as
that of Dionysus and Ariadne29 is one in which the main hall is arranged as a panel with two
parts. The main panel emblema is located on the wider and square-shaped area and is figura-
tive, whereas the other panel is located on a rectangular and narrower area with a pattern of
secondary importance, such as geometrical patterns. The triple figurative panel M2 of Room IV
is the secondary panel of the triclinium mosaics, which matches the main panel emblema with
its dimensions of 2.58x2.10 m. If the triclinium was not limited by the portico and designed as
a single area with the nymphaeum, then it would be designated the second panel which limits
the triclinium emblema. The triclinium with its figurative panel must have been connected to
the other units or rooms of the house with doorways to the eastern, northern, southern (?) and
western walls (Fig. 9).
22 Dobbins 2000, 53-54, figs. 1-3.
23 In Dobbins 2000, fig. 2, the communication between the main living room and the nymphaeum are shown with
graphics. According to this, direct communication between the single-niched nymphaeum and the main living
room takes place over the figurative panel.
24 Dobbins 2000, 57-59, figs. 6-8.
25 Dobbins 2000, 59-61.
26 For the Atrium House see Knudsen 2000, 169; for the Menander House see Dobbins 2000, 57-59, figs. 6-8.
27 Dobbins 2000, 53-57, figs. 1-2, Seleucia Pieria, House of Drinking Contest.
28 Stillwell 1961, 48; Hales 2003, 213 ff., fig. 90; Dobbins 2000, 61 n. 8. It has been proposed that the triclinium, por-
tico and the nymphaeum plan in Antioch houses is the same as the House of Psyche and Cupid from Ostia and
also western parts of the Roman Empire. The houses from the Hadrian and Antonine Periods in Antioch, Daphne
and Seleucia Pieria (the House of Calender, the House of Bacchus and Thiassos, the House Cilicia, the House of
Menander, the House of the Red Pavement and the House of Dionysos’ Triumph) repeat the plan of triclinium,
portico and nymphaeum. The houses of the Severian Period are the House of Dionysos and Ariadne, the House of
the Drinking Contest, and the House of Drunken Dionysos. The nymphaeum is located in a narrow porticus, and
three halls are open in the House of the Boat of Psyches, which is dated between 235-312 A.D. Gürler 1987, 91-94,
proposed that the plan of the Antioch houses with the triclinium of columned porticos and nymphaeum appeared
after Roman traders settled in Antioch. A similar plan was used in Italy, due to Syrian traders who settled in Italy.
It is clear that when Syrian traders settled in Italy, Roman traders also settled in Antioch, and cultural interaction
started in this period.
29 Levi 1947, 141 ff., figs. 56-57.

256 Hatice Pamir – Nilüfer Sezgin
An open space next to the triclinium in the north is connected by a doorway (90.44-
90.54 m. altitude) on the northern wall of the triclinium. It was covered by a square tile plaque.
There was a rectangular pool with a white-colored mosaic floor measuring 4x1.28 m. in the
center of the open space. The walls of the pool were mostly destroyed but preserved to a
height of at least 0.17 m. The space surrounding the eastern, western and southern walls is
open, though the northern wall does not exist. The southern wall is 1.75 m. away from the
pool while the eastern wall is 4 m. away. If these distances to the pool are taken as the basis,
the dimension of the open space should be at least 4.78x12 m. This open space is connected
to the triclinium and must be the open or semi-open inner yard: the atrium. There are no signs
of any pillars, columns or pedestals around the pool. In the Antioch house plan, a pool or im-
pluvium in the atrium are not frequently seen30. However, in the Late Antique period houses,
pools are seen in the atrium. In the Daphne Menander House, dated to the 3rd century A.D.,
a pool was built which is higher than the peristyle floor31. In the Late Antique houses, the peri-
style atrium in large residences designated an aristocratic and rich class32. In the smaller scale
houses, there is the column-less atrium as well33.
The M3 mosaic pavement is partly preserved, with white tesserae in the southern part of
Room IV, the so-called triclinium. The preserved dimension of M3 is 1.89x0.89 m. It extends in
an east-west direction, and its southern edge adjoins wall remains (Fig. 4). The plan of the M3
mosaic and its connection with Room IV suggests that the M3 mosaic pavement is a part of a
corridor (V) extending east-west and connected to the eastern and western walls and to Room
IV of the house.
The rooms of the house which belong to the same construction period can be identified
as the triclinium (IV), the atrium (III), two rooms in the east (I and II), and the area or cor-
ridor south of the triclinium (V) (Fig. 4). The possible rooms in the western wing (VI and VII),
which are symmetrical to the eastern rooms (I-II), have been destroyed at the lower level of
89 m. The walls of Rooms VI and VII are of opus latericium brickwork, and stairs on the west-
ern side of the house have been identified. The remains of a street pavement on the western
side of the house lies 114 m. away, parallel to Kurtuluş Caddesi and follows the north-east-
south-west direction of Kurtuluş Caddesi. On the northern side of the house, more remains
of a street pavement adjacent to the atrium were uncovered. The street extends east to west
between Silpius Mountain and the Orontes (Asi) River, and it seems to be cut on a vertical an-
gle by Kurtuluş Caddesi. Both streets were paved with rectangular ashlar blocks of limestone
and then badly destroyed.
The streets on the northern and western sides of the house overlap with the Hellenistic
grid plan of Antioch. The insula dimensions of the city grid plan have been accepted as
58x112 m. in Antioch34. The excavation is located south of the streets which have given the
30 If the pool arrangement compluvium in the atrium has an open roof, then the pool should be defined as an
impluvium. In that case, the impluvium should be 0.30 m. below ground level, but it is higher than the ground
level here. An atrium plan which consists of a compluvium and an impluvium was used more in the West rather
than the East. It is regarded as a Roman characteristic and is not widespread in the East. See Hales 2003, 97 ff. In
Ephesus’ Terrace House 1, there is an atrium arrangement whereby an impluvium is applied just as in the Pompeii
houses; see Hales 2003, 223 ff. In addition, see Zeyrek 2005, 48, concerning residences which have an impluvium
arrangement in Anatolia.
31 Stillwell 1941, 26, fig. 30, pl. VII; Levi 1947, 198, fig. 26.
32 Zeyrek 2005, 44 ff.
33 Radt 2002, 93.
34 Sauvaget 1934, 94; Downey 1961, 70. This measurement has been determined in accordance with the insula meas-
urement which has remained intact in the Antakya Dörtayak Neighborhood; see Weulersse 1934, 48.

257The Sundial and Convivium Scene on the Mosaic from the Rescue Excavation in a Late Antique House ...
axis of the city’s grid plan studied by Weullersse in 1934 and based on the preserved grid plan
of Antakya. However, Weullersse did not include in his research the location of the rescue ex-
cavation, due to the street system and the insula changing during later settlement phases35. The
street remains on the western and northern sides of the house show those sides of the insula
as well. It is clear that the northern and western sides of the house are bordered by the streets;
however, the southern side is problematic due to the destruction and reconstruction phases
after the initial building of the house (Fig. 4).
On the western side of the house, between the atrium and the street, it is possible that the
entrance led directly through a door which opened to the atrium from the north36. Another
possible location for the entrance is on the western side of the house. There are the remains
of a staircase here, and this side is possibly related with the entrance of the complex. The en-
trance location is not clear due to the destruction of both sides of the house in its later phases.
Since the house is bordered by the streets on the northern and western sides, it is possible that
it expanded only in the eastern and southern directions. According to the results of the excava-
tion in B3 and B2 (the southern part of the house), the lower level (at 90.11 m. altitude) with
the opus latericium brick wall must belong to the previous construction and settlement phase
of the house. In fact, on the northern side of this area, the M3 mosaic (found at 90.50 m.) is on
the rubble-filled ground here.
As a result, considering the dimensions of the units and rooms, the house extends over a
total of 308.89 m2, 23 m. east to west, and 13.43 m. north to south. Thus, it provides a reason-
able usage area for 2nd and 3rd century houses37. The house sits roughly between the levels of
90.50 m. and 90.17 m.
Coins from the north-western side of C2 grid square on the ground plan and room I
(Fig. 4), which are included in this range, are of Numerianus (283-284 A.D.) and a Constantin
I Sol Invictus (sun god) coin (around 315 A.D.) found at 90.48 m. The Crispus coins (317-326
A.D.) were found at 90.47 m., and a Probus coin (276-282 A.D.) was found at 90.55 m. Two
Constantin I coins (around 336-337 A.D.)38 belong to the construction and settlement phase
between the years 276 A.D. (at the earliest) and 337 A.D. (at the latest) (Fig. 10).
Iconographic, Technical and Stylistic Analysis of the Mosaic Panels
The figural mosaic panel M2 was found in B2 at a level of 90.17 m. The length of the mosaic
panel, which extends roughly on an east-west axis, is 4.41 m. north to south with a maximum
width of 2.62 m. east to west. The southern part of the mosaic floor is under the wall; and
while its northern and eastern sides are better preserved, it remains under the later walls on
the western and southern sides and extends in these directions.
35 Weulersse 1934, 47, plan V.
36 In Ephesus Terrace House 2, the atrium is entered from the south-east side of the house, which consists of areas
lined around the 2nd century peristillium courtyard; see Ladstätter 2013, 113, figs. 66-67.
37 The wide peristyle houses at the 2nd century A.D. Ephesus Terrace House 2, which is one of the recent studies,
extend between 400-600 m2; see Ladstätter 2013, 112 ff. The smallest house for the Terrace Houses is House 3,
which extends over an area of 260 m2; see Zimmermann – Ladstätter 2011, 60 fig. 84.
38 The preliminary studies on the coins were carried out by A. Tunçer from the Hatay Archaeology Museum. In C2
in the atrium, Justin II (575) coins were found at 90.87 m., coins of Islamic and Byzantine at 91.08 m., Islamic coins
at 91.28 m., John I Tzimisces (969-976) coins at 91.50 m., and Basil II and Constantine VIII (976-1025) coins at
91.50 m.

258 Hatice Pamir – Nilüfer Sezgin
While the white-coloured exterior floor mosaic connects properly with the walls on the north-
ern and eastern sides, since the later wall sits on the floor on the southern side, the connection
of the mosaic floor with the wall is missing on this side. The mosaic pavement starts with a
white band surrounding the figurative panels in the center. It is paved with tesserae of differ-
ent sizes from the wall to the figurative panels. In the first part (25 cm. wide), 36 white tesserae
measuring 1-1.5 cm. and 1 dm2 are used. In the second part (30 cm. wide) of the white band
are 113 smaller tesserae with an average dimension of 0.5-0.7 cm. The black outer frame of the
figurative panels is 5 cm. wide with five rows of tesserae and is in the second part of the white
border. It encircles the panels on three sides to the north, east and south, though the continu-
ation of the western side is not clear because of the later wall. This black frame is like a bold
line in the second part of the white border and is 20 cm. away from the figurative panels.
The second frame is a simple guilloche39 which encircles the figurative panels and sur-
rounds the panels without any interruption at the corners. It is 17 cm. thick, and the dimen-
sions of the tesserae range from 0.5-1 cm. The simple guilloche pattern on the black floor was
made using dark maroon, pink and two rows of yellow tesserae from the outer edge to the
inside of the frame. Black and white tesserae were used in the center of the pattern, utilizing a
total of 112 tesserae of 1 dm2. The space between the second frame and the thinner frame of
the figurative panel was made of white tesserae and is 5 cm. wide. The three figurative panels
in the center each have their own frames and are separated from each other.
The panels are placed adjacent to each other. The subjects are the ‘sundial and the moment
of deciding to join the dinner’ panel in the center; the ‘reclining skeleton figure holding a drink
cup in its hand, bread, wine and convivium scene’ on the southern panel; and the ‘African
figure’, which was largely destroyed, on the northern panel (Fig. 11).
The Panel with the Sundial and the Moment of Deciding to Join the Feast
In the figurative scene, a total of 181 tesserae at 1 dm2 were used across an area of 720 dm2
on a white background measuring 75 cm. north to south and 96 cm. east to west. A pale red
frame 2 cm. thick and 66 cm. long, whose ends do not connect with the frame, borders the
scene at the top. There are no frame lines on the right and left sides of the scene, but instead
the border’s white tesserae are used as the scene’s background. Through the adjacent and par-
allel placement of the tesserae, which are the same color as the figurative scene’s background,
a divider frame was created in the right 5 cm. and in left 4 cm. of the panel (Fig. 11).
On the left side of the scene, there is a sundial on a column. Only half of the column is
depicted, and it adjoins the white band on the left side of the scene. The column is erected on
a two-level cylindrical pedestal, like a double torus. The bottom, light orange torus is 5 cm.
high and 20 cm. wide, and the black torus above it is 6 cm. high and 15 cm. wide. The column
on top is made of pale and dark pink, beige, pale yellow and white tesserae. Its dominant
color is pink, and it seems to be a porphyry column standing 48 cm. high. There is a Doric
capital with an echinus shape on the column, which is made with orange, cubic tesserae.
The semi-circular sundial is depicted as a crescent and sits on top of the capital. Its base is
like a triangular pedestal, which is depicted with a single line of black tesserae. The exterior
border of the sundial consists of black tesserae, and the interior is of maroon tesserae laid lin-
early in single rows.
39 The terms have been used in the mosaic terminology of Balmelle et al. 1985.

259The Sundial and Convivium Scene on the Mosaic from the Rescue Excavation in a Late Antique House ...
The vertical stick at the center of the concave surface of the sundial is depicted with ma-
roon gnomon tesserae in a linear single row with a curved end. The hours are depicted with
light red tesserae in single rows, which are long in the center and get shorter towards the
sides, in nine lines in the interior of the crescent. The Greek letter q (Theta) with a line above
it is depicted linearly with black tesserae above the sundial. In the ancient Greek alphabet, q is
the ninth letter and the equivalent of the number 940. When the sundial and q are used togeth-
er, it indicates that the ninth hour has already passed, and there is a very short time until the
tenth hour. In Roman daily life the ninth hour, which is named nona, is the third hour before
the sun sets, which marks the end of official and business activities. It also expresses the end
of noon and the beginning of evening41. This hour is the time to go first to the baths and then
to attend feasts afterwards. With the tenth hour, the dinner feast, namely the banquet, begins.
The Roman poet Martial states that the eighth and ninth hours are the preparation and bath
times and that the beginning of the tenth hour is the beginning of the banquet42. Additionally,
the 2nd century A.D. writer Pollux states that a person invited for dinner waits for the appro-
priate hour by looking at the time, and that they know when it is time to attend dinner by the
shadows, defined as stoiceion. Whenever these are on the tenth line, it is the time to hurry43.
According to this description, the banquet time is fixed, and the hosts and the invited people
are obliged to comply with it44.
These types of sundials with conical global bodies were widely used in the Hellenistic and
Roman world45. The sundials were placed on top of columns in public places, such as the
courtyards of houses, near baths, and around temples and agoras46. The dial was placed con-
cavely, and the gnomon, a shadow shaft made of copper or iron, was placed in the center47.
Eleven lines are incised into the concave surface of the semi-circle bodies of the sundials so
that the time between the rising and setting of the sun is divided into twelve equal time pe-
riods48. They were produced from limestone, marble, chalk and tuff, and placed in the city
centers or agoras as immovable objects. The sundial in our mosaic was placed in an open and
central area on top of a porphyry column made of red tesserae. In the concave body of the
sundial, the time periods between the third hour and tenth hours are shown with nine lines.
Next to the sundial, and at the center of the panel, there is a short-haired, beardless,
smooth-faced young male figure 74 cm. tall. He is wearing a thin tunic (chiton) made of white
and grey tesserae with an orange/white/yellow mantle (himation) thrown over his shoulder
and draped around his chest and legs. The figure’s body contours are visible through his
clothes, indicating that he is wearing thin clothes. The figure is wearing sandals made of black
40 Verdan 2007, 7; Liddell – Scott 1901, Theta article.
41 Levi 1947, 220; Salman 2009, 85; Kondoleon 2005, 187.
42 Martialis Epigrammata IV.8, narrates what is done at which hours in Roman daily life. In Rome the day was divided
into twelve hours from the rising of the sun to the setting of the sun, and nights were divided into four watches
(vigilae), each consisting of three hours; see Salman 2009, 87.
43 Pollux Onomasticon, VI.44: 49-52.
44 Levi 1947, 220 ff.; Kondoleon 2005, 187.
45 Gibbs 1976, in her catalog study on sundials, says the sundial made from stone with a conical global body was the
most widely used type. See also Kaplan 2009, 89, 91; Salman 2007, 19 ff.; Salman 2009, 89 ff. A nearby example
comes from the Zeugma excavations. The semi-global body is on top of a near triangular profiled pedestal; see
Tabak 2010, 22.
46 Gibbs 1976, 4; Kaplan 2009, 91.
47 Gibbs 1976, 4.
48 Gibbs 1976, 4-5, n. 41.

260 Hatice Pamir – Nilüfer Sezgin
stripes and embellished with black and orange tesserae. While he is wearing his sandal on his
right foot, the sandal on his left foot has flown off. This placement of his left sandal, as well
as the ends of the himation fluttering behind the figure, indicate that he is running and in a
hurry. The figure, who is standing directly in front of the sundial and facing it in profile (on his
left), is raising his right hand and pointing at the ninth hour on the sundial with the forefinger
of his right hand. Above the figure’s head and at the center of the scene, the Greek inscrip-
tion TREXEDIPNOC (Trechedipnos) has been written in capital letters with black tesserae. It
means “run to dinner”49. It was suggested by the writers of New Comedia writers as a name
used to refer to “parasites who run for dinner”50. In the record in which Athenaeus quotes
from Menander, he introduced Chaerephon as a person who is invited to a banquet and who
follows shadows by running to the sundial, getting ready early in the morning as if he is late,
and acting as a parasite who runs for dinner feasts51. Two figurative mosaic panels dating from
third century A.D. with a sundial and a male figure were found in the Daphne (Harbiye) 1935
excavations52 (Fig. 13a-b). In both of the mosaic panels, there is a sundial and a male figure
standing in front of it. These figures, whose feet are bare, are impatiently waiting directly in
front of the sundial. Above the figure on one of the panels (Fig. 13b), there is the inscription
“ΕΝΑΤΗΠΑΡΗΛΑΣΕΝ” (Enatêparêlasen; ‘it is past the ninth hour’)53. On these panels, para-
sites were depicted who are trying to join punctually the banquet and symposion hosted at the
house of a rich person, which would last until morning.
On the right side of the panel, behind the parasite figure in our mosaic, there is a 69 cm.
tall male figure emerging from the frame so that only his head, a leg and an arm are visible.
He is depicted as an almost caricaturized figure who is bald with a black beard, large popped
eyes and an ugly, oversized nose. His sparse black hair is visible at the back of his head and
slightly covers his ear. The figure wears a green half-sleeved tunic with a short skirt. The space
between the shoulder and elbow of the bearded man is made up of glass tesserae. The figure’s
upper left knee and calf are partially visible, while the feet are destroyed. The figure, mov-
ing slightly forward, holds the fluttering end of the mantle of the male figure in front of him.
There is a two-line inscription above his head which says AKAIROC (Akairos; ‘ill-timed, inap-
propriate timing, untimely’)54. In the mosaics of Antioch, the ugly characters are usually seen
49 Liddell – Scott 1901, 1572: Trechedeipnos article.
50 Levi 1947, 220-221; Kondoleon 2005, 187; Alchipron, III, Letters 2, IV, 100 Trechedeipnus to Lopadecthambus;
Athenaeus Deipnosophists, VI, 27-46, telling the stories of the parasites.
51 Athenaeus Deipnosophist VI.42; Menander Four Plays, Samia, 255K-260K, n. 401: Chaerephon is introduced as a
famous parasite and an immortal personality who lived before Menander’s time. This personality, who is based on
Alexis (257.K), turned into the favorite comic character for the early-period comic poetry of the New Comedia. He
is a person who finds various intelligent ways of attending dinners he is not invited to in these poems. Apollonius
from Caria (24, 26) uses Chaerephon as an uninvited guest; Menander Fragments, Orge 364K, p. 417 narrates: “Not
one different from Chaerophon is that man, whoever once upon a time, bidden to dine when the sun’s shadow
marks twelwe feet, rising at crack of dawn a look at shadow and ran by the light of the moon, as though late, and
arrived along with the daylight How willing the parasite is and he is defined as a person who ‘just like Chaerephon
comes to a dinner half a day early by misinterpreting the shadow of the moon on the sundial’; Menander Samia,
256K (600) n. 33: ‘A notorious Athenian parasite who had made a career of dining out uninvited at other people’s
expense for ten years or more’. He introduces a parasite named Chaerephon to the Middle Comedia period poet
Alexis (375-275 B.C.) and describes him as a person who has made a career of ten years or more by attending din-
ners he is not invited to and not paying for his bills.
52 Campbell 1938, 213; Antioch II, 202, fig. 83, pl. 75; Levi 1947, 219-222, figs. 82-83, pls. XLIX, CVIIg, CXLIIIa,
CLXXXb; Cimok 2000, 193; Kondoleon 2005, 182-189, figs. 1-9. Hatay Archaeology Museum Inv. No: 864 and 865
panels.
53 Levi 1947, 220; Salman 2009, 94-95.
54 Liddell – Scott 1901, 44: Akairos article

261The Sundial and Convivium Scene on the Mosaic from the Rescue Excavation in a Late Antique House ...
as satyrs, sileni, and personification figures in evil-eye mosaics or as workers. Beginning from
the Hellenistic period in the art of sculpting, grotesque figures such as bald and ugly males
are seen in the House of the Evil Eye, which belongs to the early stage of the Çekmece Bath.
These are personifications against the evil eye55 or as a satyr, sirens or Pan figures in the mosa-
ics from Antioch, Daphne and Seleucia Pieria56. Additionally, in mosaic panels depicting scenes
from Menander’s works, these resemble servants or accompanying comic figures in a theatrical
attitude57.
The figure used as the personification of AKAIROC (‘inappropriate timing’) reinforces inap-
propriateness with his grotesque appearance (in terms of the period’s style) and adds a comical
expression to the scene. In addition, as the companion of the figure who has left the bath and
is hurrying to attend the banquet, he tries to let him know about the bad timing and that he is
late to dinner58. By warning the figure looking at the sundial and hurrying to join the dinner
of ‘ill-timing’, he also explains that the figure is late to dinner, and that is why he is in a rush.
The mosaic panel depicts a belated request of a guest or parasite to join the banquet in a
comical manner59. According to Dunbabin, all of the figures who are looking at the sundial,
dressed nicely and rushing, depict parasites who are waiting for dinner time60. These mosa-
ics with the sundial themes are also considered panels which show the time of banquets and
their importance in daily social life61. Diogenes Laertios writes that the famous Cynic Diogenes
from Sinope says that ‘it is a beneficial instrument not to be late for dinner’ to a person who
shows him a sundial62. The known examples of sundials in daily life are mosaics coming from
Daphne, the sundial seen in the wall painting in the villa at Ephesus, and the figure holding an
object in his hand and extending it to the sundial63.
The Panel with the African Figure
This panel is on the southern side next to the central panel. While its eastern part is preserved,
the western part is destroyed (Figs. 12, 14), so the inner width is only 58 cm. An African figure
is depicted at the center on a white background and encircled by a simple maroon frame
2 cm. wide. The tesserae are 0.5-1 cm., and the panel contains 195 tesserae at 1 dm2. The
African figure has a pointy nose and a depressed forehead. His upper body in profile; his right
arm and his head are preserved, but the lower body is destroyed. He is standing and looking
south at the left side of the scene. The figure is raising his right hand towards his head and
holding a yellow forked stick. He wears a yellow hat on his head, the top part of which is
55 Levi 1947, 32-33; Cimok 2000, 36-37.
56 Levi 1947, 91-99, pl. XVIc; Cimok 2000, 92-93, 131
57 Dunbabin 2012, 46, fig. 45. In the mosaic panel from the Villa of Cicero from Pompei, a male figure with a short
skirt is a servant or a companion behind the musicians on the stage of Menander’s play Theophorumene.
58 According to the customs of Roman daily life, the guest joins the banquet after the bath; see Dunbabin 2012.
59 Menander, Fragments, Orge 364K, in one of his early plays introduces a parasite as overly willing to join the feast
by saying that ‘he is the same as Chaerophon; he comes to the feast a half day before once he misunderstood the
shadow of the moonlight on the sundial’.
60 Dunbabin 2003, 137.
61 Causey 1980, 170-172. König 2012, 254-257, defines the sundial-themed depictions in the Antakya mosaics as mak-
ing the guests feel proud before they are invited and as depictions which invite the guests to learn about their
characters.
62 Diogenes Laertios, VI.104.
63 Salman 2009, 87.

262 Hatice Pamir – Nilüfer Sezgin
round, and the front and back sides extend forwards and backwards. Dark grey, dark green-
grey, and beige tesserae are used for the figure’s face and body. Black is used in the contour
lines of the figure, and white is used for his eye. In his pose holding the forked stick, the stick
is a tool resembling a pair of tongs. The figure has his back turned to the sundial panel, which
is the central panel, and is facing south. The white background (at 90.50 m.), which lies in
Room V parallel with the southern side of the triclinium, was likely a place which connected
with the triclinium through a doorway.
African figures are seen in mosaics as workers or slaves. The African fisherman figure,
found in the Calendar House in Antakya and dating to the 2nd century A.D., is very similar
with its yellow cap and the double stick in its hand64 (Fig. 15). The hat on the figure’s head
was used by outdoor workers, seamen and fishermen as protection from the sun65. Africans,
dwarves and deformed figures were depicted as ‘fishermen [and] hunters’ in the Hellenistic
period’s Nile mosaics, which are among the mosaics from the early period66. The mosaic floor
exhibited at the Timgad Museum named ‘The Timgad Negro’ was depicted to protect those
who came to the baths, particularly by associating it with certain stories about bath demons67.
While this African figure, found in Timgad at the North-South Baths in the threshold between
the two hot rooms, is depicted as walking with a shovel used to throw things onto the fire, he
is accepted to be an apotropaic figure because of the exaggerated manner in which he holds
his large sexual organ (ithyphallic) in his hand68. However, it is also true that African slaves
were made to work difficult jobs in baths, such as tending fire69. Although African figures are
placed in baths against genies or demons, it was widely believed in the Late Imperial period
that the genies that lived in baths were African. Perhaps the protective apotropaic figures were
depicted as African as a kind of personification against such a danger70.
Since the lower part of the black figure is destroyed, it is not clear whether it is an ithy-
phallic and apotropaic depiction or if it is a depiction of a slave. However, the hat on its head
points more towards identifying it as a worker. Similarly, the time being nine in the ‘sundial’
mosaic in the adjacent central panel, and this time being allocated to bath activities in Roman
daily life71, indicates that the panel is a depiction within a bath context.
The Convivium Panel with the Skeleton Figure
The figurative panel on the northern side of the central panel covers a rectangular area meas-
uring 0.96x0.65 m. and is bordered by a maroon frame 2 cm. wide (Fig. 16). The panels con-
tains 135 tesserae of 1 dm2. The figural theme on the black background is made of tesserae of
white, black, yellow, red, beige, grey and green. There is a skeleton figure at the center with
an inscription on both sides of its head plus two loaves of bread and a double-handled wine
amphora with a pointed base depicted in the upper right-hand corner of the scene (Fig. 17).
The skeleton looks north at the door, which is connected to the atrium that extends parallel to
the triclinium.
64 Levi 1947, 36-39; Antioch II, 192, pl. 53; Cimok 2000, 44-45.
65 Levi 1947, 39.
66 Levi 1947, 39.
67 Dunbabin 1989, 42-43.
68 Dunbabin 1989, 38, pl. XVa.
69 Dunbabin 1989, 42; Desanges 1976, 265.
70 Dunbabin 1989, 42-43.
71 Salman 2009, 87.

263The Sundial and Convivium Scene on the Mosaic from the Rescue Excavation in a Late Antique House ...
At the center of the scene, there is an 89 cm. long male skeleton slightly reclining on its left
side, leaning its left elbow on a pillow and holding a drinking cup in its hand. The skeleton’s
skull is grey and white, and its forehead, cheek and chin are detailed with grey tesserae. The
two circular eye holes and the reverse V-shaped nose are made with lines of black tesserae.
The mouth, made with lines of black tesserae, and teeth are shaped into a smile. The discs of
the spine are done in white and grey and begin at the neck of the skeleton, forming the verti-
cal axis of the upper body, which is laying slightly on its left side. The collarbone that joins
the spine and the eight lines of ribs placed symmetrically facing each other are also white and
grey. The skeleton’s upper body slightly leans on its left side, propped with its left elbow on a
circular pillow made of yellow, beige and light yellow tesserae. The arm is bent at the elbow
and raised upwards, and the hand holds a drinking cup without a base or handle. The cup is
green on the outside and light green-grey on the inside. The skeleton’s finger bones can be
seen on the surface of the cup.
The skeleton’s right arm is raised above its head, its palm is turned towards the ground,
and the skeleton looks relaxed and mellow. The skeleton sits on the ground and leans towards
the pillow with its pelvis. The gaps and details in the pelvis are made from black tesserae. The
skeleton’s right leg is raised and acts as a balance in the semi-supine position, since it is bent
from the knee. The sole of its foot is in a position where it presses flat against the ground. Its
left leg is extended straight forwards, and the left foot is extended over the right foot, crossing
the ankles. In the Antakya and Zeugma mosaics, the female or male figures seen in the sympo-
sion/banquet scenes lie on pillows propped on an arm and elbow, and their feet are extended
forwards and crossed. The drinking cup is sometimes held in the free hand and sometimes in
the hand laid on the pillow72. In the upper left-hand part of the scene and to the right of the
skeleton, there is an amphora which stands on a tripod pedestal with two overlapping loaves
of bread next to it. The skeleton reclining in the foreground and the amphora and bread in the
background provide depth to the scene.
The long-necked amphora is depicted in pictorial style using light red, white, grey and ma-
roon tesserae in a contrast of dark and light colors – light colors where light falls on it and dark
colors where it remains in shade. The amphora has an oval body with a long conical neck
and a long bottom with a pointed base. Two long handles on both sides of the amphora rise
straight up from its shoulder, make a rib, and then turn toward the mouth and simply join it.
There is no decoration on the surface of the amphora. It is a common wine amphora with a
plain and simple appearance and a reddish paste structure.
The amphora stands on a tripod which is depicted with yellow tesserae. The legs of the tri-
pod are fixed to each other with four sticks. It must have been used in the dining room, based
on its elaborate craftsmanship. The mosaicist very likely used contemporary amphorae as a
model. This amphora, with its long handles extending from its shoulders to its mouth and its
72 Among the similar mosaic panels are: the House of Drunken Dionysos at Antioch that depicts Tryphe and Bios
both holding a cup in one hand and one of whom is reclining in same posture dating to the 3rd century A.D.; Levi
1947, 40, 223, pl. LI a-b; Cimok 2000, 27; Hatay Archaeological Museum Inv. No: 862; the House of Menander from
Daphne with the Ladon and Psalis panels showing them reclining on one side in same pose, Hatay, Levi 1947,
204-205, pl. XLVIc; Cimok 2000, 183; Kondoleon 2000,74-76; Hatay Archaeology Museum Inv. No: 1015. An ear-
lier example from the 2nd century A.D. from the Atrium House in Antioch, the Drinking Contest of Heracles and
Dionysos where Dionysos reclines and holds a cup in a similar pose; Levi 1947, 21, pl. Ia; Cimok 2000, 27. Another
example from the Maenad Villa, Zeugma, dates to as early as the 3rd century A.D., with a depiction of Euphrosyne
and Akrotas in a banquet scene. Akratos reclines on a cushion with his left arm and elbow in a similar posture
while holding a drinking cup in his hand. His left arm is lifted upwards, and his feet are crossed; see Ergeç 2007,
70-71; Görkay 2015, 76-77.

264 Hatice Pamir – Nilüfer Sezgin
cylindrical body, is similar to Dressel 2-4 amphorae produced in Cos from the 1st century B.C.
and spread to the whole Mediterranean world in the 2nd century A.D.73.
The two loaves are both depicted in the form of a flower, with six lines radiating from the
center towards the circular edge. The surface of the fluffy bread is made of white tesserae, and
the bottom is made of light brown tesserae. The bread type, both the white shading at the top
and its form, is almost the same as that in the Buffet Mosaic found in Daphne and dated to the
3rd century A.D.74 (Fig. 18).
At the top of the scene, EΥΦPOCΥNOC (Euphrosynos) is inscribed in white tesserae on
both sides of the figure’s head. Although the inscription consists of a single word, it is divided
into two to make it fit the scene EΥΦPO is written on the right side of the skeleton’s head
and the CΥNOC is on the left side. Euphrosynos means ‘enjoy, having fun, cheering up’ and
is derived from the word euphro75. The word euphrosyne is derived from the same root as the
name of one of the three Graces who presided over the celebrations and entertainment among
the Charites76. As a term used in banquet scenes, Euphrosyne is a personification of Joy and
depicted as a female figure77. Here, the euphrosynos personification, used with a male figure,
displays the masculine form. It is a call to the banquet attendees and refers a truth that must be
obeyed.
The tradition of dining while reclining appeared in Greek society in the early 7th century
B.C.78. At that time Near Eastern traditions were being adapted into the Greek world, and the
symposion tradition of eating and drinking with guests spread widely. It was practiced widely
from Etruria all the way to the East79. In the Roman world eating and drinking was the most
important social ritual, and dining together as a group formed the foundation of relationships
among the elite classes80. The practice of reclining to dine spread vertically through society, so
that a custom which was originally aristocratic was imitated by lower social groups81.
In the Greek tradition, eating together was expressed with the word syndeipnon and drink-
ing together was expressed with the word ‘symposion’, whereas in Roman social life the term
‘convivium’ was used to define banquet, meaning to eat and drink lying down pleasurably to-
gether with friends82. Convivium organized by great and aristocratic families had an important
part in social life as a semi-official event, and these gatherings developed the form of hospital-
ity between the businessman and the customer, where richness, luxury and status indications
were also reflected.
73 Doğer 1991, 24, fig. 21; Peacock – Williams 1991, 104.
74 Levi 1947, 132, fig. CLIIa; Cimok 2000, 111-112; Hatay Archaeology Museum Inv. No. 937.
75 Liddell – Scott 1901, 619: Euphrosinos article.
76 Hesiodos Th. 907-911; Pindar, Olympian, 14. 13 ff., Dickey – Hamilton 1991, 22 Olympian 14, 13 ff., comments that
Euphrosyne is ‘the “contentedness of mind” or “good cheer” which accompanies celebration’.
77 The ‘Euphrosyne’ from the Zeugma Maenad Villa is a female figure used as a personification of ‘pleasure and en-
joyment’ and ‘Akratos’ as a personification of ‘extravagance, extremity’; see Ergeç 2007, 68-71; Görkay 2015, 76-77.
78 Dunbabin 2003, 11.
79 Dunbabin 2003, 11.
80 Dunbabin 2003, 2.
81 Dunbabin 2003, 13.
82 Dunbabin 2003, 13, for one meaning of convivium as ‘joint life’, commonly ‘to drink and eat or celebrate and
rejoice’.

265The Sundial and Convivium Scene on the Mosaic from the Rescue Excavation in a Late Antique House ...
The banquet or convivium tradition, which spread over all the Roman Empire, was car-
ried out by the local elite as well83. In these feasts depictions of death were used to reflect the
beauty, joy and pleasure of life. In literature, the Latin poets Horace, Martial, Petronius and
Pseudo-Vergil used the theme of death in their poems to show the pleasure of life in the face
of death in a vivid manner throughout the 1st century B.C. and 1st century A.D.84. The reflec-
tion of this philosophy in Roman visual arts is the creation and usage of skeleton depictions.
A majority of these are objects related to banquets or drinking feasts. The skeleton figurines
made of silver or bronze were passed from hand to hand by the diners who attended the
feasts85. On the exterior surface of a drinking cup (kalathos) with green glazing from Thrace,
the banquet scene is reflected in an embossed skeleton and wreath, a two-handled amphora,
a piece of meat and various other tools, along with two words on both sides of the figure that
mean ‘get’ and ‘use’: “katw cro”86 (Fig. 19). The skeletons are identified by inscriptions as
some of the greatest of Greek poets and philosophers, reveling among flowers and music on
the silver drinking cups in the Boscoreale treasure87. On the well-known floor mosaic from a
Pompeii triclinium, a skeleton figure holds a single-handled jug in each hand and most likely
depicts a servant88 (Fig. 20) in a joyful and fun atmosphere. Reminding the diners of death,
it encourages living life joyfully in the face of death, although life is short89. The Latin writer
Petronius expresses the same concept at a dinner while playing with a silver skeleton figurine:
‘Alas! how little are we all; poor man is nothing; and like this skeleton we shall be when Orcus
has taken us hence, Then let’s live merrily while we can’90.
A remarkable example which has a similar pose to our mosaic is on the small grave Altar of
Antonia Paneca, dated to the late 1st century A.D. from Rome and now in the Naples Museum
(Fig. 21). The altar is bordered by two columns on both sides with an inscription and a skel-
eton relief beneath it. The skeleton is in the banqueting position, lying slightly on his left side
and holding a drinking cup in his left hand. The other hand is placing a wreath upon his head,
and his right leg is bent at the knee, while his left leg is extended forward towards the right
leg. It is a banqueting scene with a skeleton reclining with a drinking cup in hand91. According
to Dunbabin, ‘The banqueting skeleton acts here as a sort of double quotation, picking up
from the living banquet the skeleton that parodies the gestures of the living’92. The inscription
tells us that the girl died at nine years of age and was too young to have taken much part in
banquets. The theme was used by parents to commemorate their children, and perhaps the
intention was to allude to the pleasures which she had no chance to experience93. While the
83 Dunbabin 2003, 13
84 Dunbabin 2003, 132; Martial Epigrammata, II. 59, where he uses Caesar’s tomb as a metaphor to discuss life and
death during the feast in the dining room.
85 Dunbabin 2003, 133.
86 Dunbabin 2003, 133, fig. 77: Berlin, Antiken Museum, Staatliche Museen Presusicher Kulturbesitz, Inv. No. V.1.
30141. It dates to the second half of the 1st century B.C.
87 Dunbabin 2003, 133, Boscoreale Treasure, Paris Musée du Louvre.
88 Scheletto con askoi Inv. No. 9979; It is not known from which structure this work has come. It most probably
belongs to a triclinium; see Dunbabin 2003, 133.
89 Ibid., 133-34, fig. 78.
90 Petronius, Cena Trimalchionis 34.15-35: eheu nos miseros, quam totus homuncio nil est. Sic erimus cuncti, posquam
nos auferet Orcus. Ergo vivamus, dum licet esse bene.
91 Naples Museo Nazionale 2803.
92 Dunbabin 2003, 135-136.
93 Dunbabin 2003, 136.

266 Hatice Pamir – Nilüfer Sezgin
skeleton reminds those who are alive about the inevitability of death, it also expresses the
pleasures and beauty of life, despite the fact that it is short lived94.
The polarity between death in the Roman world and symposium, or rather convivium, has
resulted in the creation of strong and impressive depictions in both visual art and literature
without expressing a definite feeling of disintegration, by intertwining these two opposing con-
cepts. As a consequence, a convivium scene in this mosaic panel with the banqueting skeleton
figure, wine and bread, and the EΥΦPOCΥNOC inscription at the top of the scene attempts to
convey that the pleasures of life should be indulged against the infinity of death. The skeleton
figure and the ‘enjoy’ inscription guide the diners as the motto of the times.
In the mosaic art of Antioch, the local ateliers, both in terms of style and repertoire, were
conservative regarding the continuity of the Hellenistic tradition in Late Antiquity95. The scenes
taken from the plays of the Athenian New Comedian poet Menander were being materialized
in the 3rd century Antiochian mosaic ateliers. Menander himself is seen in the Menander and
Glykera mosaic96, and the staging of Menander’s four plays can be seen in the new Menander
mosaic97 from Daphne (Harbiye). The parasite character, or parasite mask, one of the comic
figures of the New Comedia, was used in mosaic art in Pompeii and Mytilene98. In Menander’s
play Samia, Demeas says that Chaerephon never pays for what he eats and introduces him as
a freeloading parasite99. A rushing man trying to attend dinner on time, as seen in the sundial
panel, displays a general character personified in the Sundial House from Daphne as the para-
site introduced in Menander’s plays100.
The figurative panel, in terms of its subjects and stylistic iconography, reflects characteristics
of the 3rd and 4th century A.D. dominant in the Antioch mosaics. According to the coin found
in the house, its construction occurred between 276-337 A.D., and this fits with the date of
the mosaic panels as well. In the figurative panel, the depiction of bathing and the convivium
– phenomena which were the most important activities of Roman socio-cultural life – are ex-
pressed. A city-dweller trying to find a place for himself among the elite class by getting out of
the bath and then hurrying to attend dinner (the most important event of the day) is depicted
in a comical manner. While the sundial and parasite themes are seen in the Antioch mosaics,
the skeleton motif used in the panel to express convivium is seen here for the first time in the
repertoire. The skeleton seen in the Pompeii mosaics and the theme of death used by Latin
poets to understand the value of life reflects Roman traditions and a Roman philosophy of life
as well as provide information about the landlord’s own world view. The way that the skeleton
rests its left arm on the cushion and the drinking cup in its hand, the way it extends its feet
and the relaxed reclining position with his feet together, as well as the way it raises its hand to
its head, suggest the continuity of life in the face of death and the power of life.
In this recently found mosaic panel, the decisive moment of ‘a parasite attending dinner’,
inspired by Antiquity’s famous parasite Chaerephon attending a dinner, the ‘bath theme’ with
the black figure, and the convivium scene with the banqueting skeleton figure are all depicted.
Roman social life of the period is truly reflected through this ironic narration.
94 Dunbabin 2003, 135.
95 Balty 1995, 162-174; Balty 2004, 257-269.
96 For the Menander and Glykera mosaic, see Levi 1947, 201 ff.; Cimok 2000, 180-181; Kondoleon 2000, 74-76.
97 For the Daphne Menander mosaic, see Gutzwiller – Çelik 2012, 573-623.
98 Gutzwiller – Çelik 2012, 615; Webster et al. 1995, 1:5, 24. Cat. No. 3DT 17b.
99 See note 51,
100 Levi 1947, 220; Kondoleon 2005, 187.

267The Sundial and Convivium Scene on the Mosaic from the Rescue Excavation in a Late Antique House ...
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Özet
Antakya Geç Antik Çağ Konutu Kurtarma Kazısından
Güneş Saati ve Ziyafet Mozaiği
Antakya Kurtuluş Caddesi, İplik Pazarı mevkisinde, Hatay Arkeoloji Müzesince 2013 yılında
yürütülen kurtarma kazısında bir kısmı korunagelmiş figürlü taban mozaiği içeren konut ve
çevresi kazılmıştır. Kazı, günümüzden başlayan ve Geç Antik Çağ’ın başlarına kadar uzanan bir
yerleşim katmanlaşmasını ortaya çıkarmıştır. Üst üste yapılaşma nedeniyle orijinal planı bozul-
muş olan ancak 7 mekânı tanımlanabilmiş bir konutun, kuzey ve batı tarafı yol ile sınırlanmış-
tır. Hellenistik insula üzerinde kuzey ve batısı sokağa bitişen konut, avlu etrafında sıralanan
mekânları ve avluya açılan geniş ziyafet salonu olan tricliniumu ile Geç Antik Çağ Antakya
evlerinin planını vermektedir. Konutun inşası sikke buluntulara göre en erken M.S. 276 en geç
M.S. 337 yıllarıdır.
Tricliniumda yer alan büyük kısmı yok olan taban kaplamasının koruna gelmiş figürlü
mozaik tabanı konu bakımından birbiri ile ilişkili bu üç panelden oluşmaktadır. Üç mozaik
panelin merkezinde: güneş saati önünde duran bir erkek figürü ve eşlikçisi; ikinci panelde kıs-
men korunagelmiş elinde ikili çubuktan oluşan bir alet tutan Afrikalı figürü ve üçüncü panelde
bir yastığa dayanmış hafif uzanmış, bir elinde içki kabı tutan iskelet, şarap amphorası ve ekmek
tasvirleri işlenmiştir. Merkez paneldeki güneş saati ve üzerinde Q (Theta) harfi, “Trekhe Deipnos
Yemeğe Koş” yazıtı ve acele içinde erkek figürü, arkasında eşlikçi figürü ve “Akairos uygunsuz
zaman” yazıtı ile davetli olduğu yemeğe yetişmek için saate bakarak acele ile koşuşturan bir ki-
şinin yemeğe saatinde yetişme çabası gülünç bir şekilde yansıtılmaktadır. Bu telaş içindeki figür
ve konu Menander’in oyunlarında tasvir edilen “Akşam yemeğini kovalayan parazitler” sahnesi
olarak yorumlanmaktadır. Afrikalı figürün yer aldığı panelde, merkez panel ile ilişkili, Roma
sosyal yaşamında akşam yemeğine katılmadan önce hamama gitme konusu işlenmiştir. Üçüncü
panel ise bir yastığa rahat bir şekilde uzanmış elinde içki kabı tutan bir iskelet, şarap ve ekmek
tasviri, “Euphrosinos, Neşe” yazıtı ile convivium ziyafet konusu işlenmiştir. Roma dünyasında,
ziyafetlerde hayatın güzelliğini ve sevincini coşkusunu göstermek için ölüm temasını işleyen
iskelet tasvirleri ziyafet salonlarında kullanılmıştır. Bu panelde banquet sahnesindeki insan
iskelet figürü, şarap ve ekmek ve sahnenin üstündeki yazıt ile bir convivium sahnesi, ölümün
sonsuzluğuna karşı, hayatın neşesine katılmak gerektiği anlatılmaktadır.
Üç konu ile günlük yaşamın anlatıldığı paneller gerek konusu gerekse farklı üslup ve tekniği
ile özgün bir yere sahip olmakta ve Antakya mozaik repertuarına yenilik katmaktadır. Paneller,
Antik Çağ’ın ünlü paraziti Chairephon’un yemek ziyafetine katılması konusundan esinlenmiş
bir figür olan “bir parazitin yemeğe katılma” karar anı, zenci figür ile “hamam teması” ve
banquet yapan iskelet figürü ile “convivium” sahnesini konu edinmekte, o dönemdeki Roma
sosyal hayatını ironik bir anlatımla yansıtmaktadır.

271The Sundial and Convivium Scene on the Mosaic from the Rescue Excavation in a Late Antique House ...
Geç Antik Çağ Antakyası’nın evlerinin mozaik taban kaplamalarında, Klasik ve Hellenistik
edebiyatın epik ve tragedyalarından alınma edebi, teatral ve mitolojik konular, Hellenistik yazın
sanatının görsel sanat üzerindeki etkisini vurgulamaktadır. Figüratif panel içerdiği konuları,
stilistik ve ikonografik eğilimi bakımından Antakya mozaiklerinde hakim olan M.S. 3. ve 4. yy.
özelliklerini göstermektedir.

272 Hatice Pamir – Nilüfer Sezgin
Fig. 1 Rescue excavation area on topographic plan of Antioch (Antakya Hipodrom ve Çevresi Kazısı Arşivi)

273The Sundial and Convivium Scene on the Mosaic from the Rescue Excavation in a Late Antique House ...
Fig. 3 Excavation ground plan (© Hatay Arkeoloji Müzesi)
Fig. 2
Aerial view of
excavation area
(© Hatay
Arkeoloji Müzesi)

274 Hatice Pamir – Nilüfer Sezgin
Fig. 4 Plan of house on ground plan (© Hatay Arkeoloji Müzesi)
Fig. 5 Room IV, later construction layers on triclinium: wall, drainage channel, well and terracotta pipes
(© Hatay Arkeoloji Müzesi)

275The Sundial and Convivium Scene on the Mosaic from the Rescue Excavation in a Late Antique House ...
Fig. 6 Spolium door block in later divided wall of triclinium (© Hatay Arkeoloji Müzesi)
Fig. 7 Figural mosaic panel and the pool of nymphaion (©Hatay Arkeoloji Müzesi)

276 Hatice Pamir – Nilüfer Sezgin
Fig. 9 Room IV, hypothetical restitution plan of triclinium
(© H. Pamir – K. Öncü)
Fig. 8 Room IV as house’s triclinium and ancient streets on house’s hypothetical restitution plan
(© H. Pamir – K. Öncü)

277The Sundial and Convivium Scene on the Mosaic from the Rescue Excavation in a Late Antique House ...
Fig. 10
Numerianus coin
from Room IV
(© Hatay Arkeoloji Müzesi)
Fig. 12
Sundial and
African-figured
panel from
excavation
(© Hatay Arkeoloji
Müzesi)
Fig. 11 Figural panel (© Hatay Arkeoloji Müzesi)

278 Hatice Pamir – Nilüfer Sezgin
Fig. 13
a. Sundial mosaic panels from Daphne,
Hatay Archaeology Museum Inv. No. 884;
b. Hatay Archaeology Museum Inv. No. 884
(© Hatay Arkeoloji Müzesi)
Fig. 14
African-figured mosaic panel
(© Hatay Arkeoloji Müzesi)
Fig. 15
African fisherman mosaic
(Hatay Archaeology
Museum Inv. No. 859;
© Hatay Arkeoloji Müzesi)
a b

279The Sundial and Convivium Scene on the Mosaic from the Rescue Excavation in a Late Antique House ...
Fig. 16 Reclining skeleton mosaic panel from excavation (© Hatay Arkeoloji Müzesi)
Fig. 17 Depiction of wine amphora
and loaves on panel
(© Hatay Arkeoloji Müzesi)
Fig. 18 Loaves depiction on Buffet Mosaic
from Daphne
(Hatay Archaeology Museum Inv. No. 937;
© Hatay Arkeoloji Müzesi)

280 Hatice Pamir – Nilüfer Sezgin
Fig. 19 Skeleton and banqueting paraphernalia relief on
kalathos (Dunbabin 2003, 133, fig. 77; Berlin,
Antiken Museum, Staatliche Museen Presusicher
Kulturbesitz, Inv. No. V.1. 30141)
Fig. 20 Skeleton depiction on mosaic
from Pompei (Dunbabin 2003, 134,
fig. 78; Naples Museo Nazionale,
Inv. No. Mann 009978)
Fig. 21
Grave Altar of Antonia Panace
(Dunbabin 2003, 135, fig. 78;
Naples Museo Nazionale
Inv. No. 2803)