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July 09, 2005
A Beautiful St. George Bellerophon the Dragon Chimera Slayer Mosaic from Palmyra
The Times of London online tells of the discovery of a beautiful mosaic from c. 260 CE found on the "dining room floor" of Roman (?) building in Palmyra, Syria. The article tells us a little about the mosaic;
The warrior is wearing a wide-rimmed Roman helmet with a red streamer and is flanked by two eagles bringing wreaths of victory. Bellerophon is riding the winged Pegasus and thrusting a spear down into the lion’s head of the chimera, while its two other heads, a snake forming its tail and a goat on its back, hiss up at him.Unusually, he has trousers and an embroidered tunic, the costume of Palmyra’s Sassanian Persian neighbours, and an open-sleeved coat of the sort worn by Palmyrene aristocrats.
The city was an outpost of Roman culture, located midway between the Mediterranean and the Euphrates, and its society reflected this rich blend of influences, stimulated by trade across the desert.
And it tells us a lot about a speculative relationship between the image and the legend of St George the Dragon Slayer. As Jim Davila of PaleoJudaica says,
It's a bit of a stretch between Bellerophon slaying the chimera and St. George slaying the dragon, but the mosaic is still cool.
Here's a sample from the mosaic; just the chimera to whet your appetite for the whole thing. Follow the link to see it all.
Posted by DuaneSmith at July 9, 2005 02:37 PM | Read more on Archaeology |
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