The Nile mosaic of
Palestrina, dated from about 100 BC, is of the late Hellenistic
style (i.e., it is made of very small tesserae). It was originally covering part
of the floor of a Roman Shrine dedicated to the Goddess Fortuna.
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| The Nile Mosaic. 5.85 x 4.30 m (19 x 14') |
This impressive piece depicts the River Nile as it flows from Ethiopia to the Mediterranean.
Ancient mosaics usually help us understand our ancestors. The Nile
mosaic is no exception and it is very interesting for 2 reasons.
With 20 different scenes
representing more than 40 kinds of actual or mythical animals: Hyenas, Monkeys, Snakes, Mongoose, Sphynx; about 14 kinds of trees
and plants; a great variety of architectures houses, temples, farms; different people such as Peasants, Women, Priests, Ethiopians, Soldiers, it is a very detailed
depiction of life in Ethiopia and Egypt.
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| Ethiopian Sphinx |
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| Ethiopian Hunters |
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| Fight between Snake and Mongoose |
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| Fishing boat |
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| Picnic at the lake |
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| Hellenistic Architecture and Egyptian soldiers. |
But beside that, the Nile Mosaic also clearly points at the fascination Egypt exerted over the Roman Elite of the late republic.
Pliny the Elder mentioned
in his Natural History that :
“ Mosaics came into
use as early as Sulla's régime. At all events there exists even
today one made of very small tesserae which he installed in the
temple of Fortune at Palestrina ...”
So
one of the earliest mosaic installed in Italy is about Egypt, and it
was installed in a Temple dedicated to the Goddess Fortuna, which was assimilated by the Romans to the great Egyptian Goddess Isis.
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| Osiris, Isis and Horus. |
We
have a good indication here, of the forces at work that were to
“corrupt” the original Roman religion with influences from the mystical Eastern Mediterranean World.
But this, my little friends, is an other story !
Currently the Nile Mosaic can be seen at the Museo Nazionale Prenestino in Palestrina, Italy.
If you enjoyed this post, you may want to
And if
you are interested in purchasing one of my mosaics, would like to commission a special project or to simply discuss the
wonderful art of mosaics, please contact me by email at frederic.lecut@gmail.com or by phone at (334) 798 1639.
Wonderful article. Loved the detailed shots of that mosaic. It is very interesting to learn about this relationship between Italy and Egypt in the past.
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