Excavation of Mosaic in Syria
In war-torn Syria, in the town of Rastan near Homs, archaeologists excavated a dramatic “Trojan War” mosaic also featuring other subjects. The mosaic dates to the 4th century CE during the period when the Western Roman empire had split from the Eastern (Byzantine) empire. Excavators have not yet identified the purpose of the building housing the mosaic, but it may have been a public bath. Thus far 65 feet of mosaic have been exposed.
Sexist Subjects
Some of the subject matter of the mosaic strikes me as almost comically sexist, hardly surprising for this time and place. One part shows Hercules slaying Hippolyta, the queen of the Amazon warriors. (The photo at top is a modern-day dramatic painting of this event by Delacroix.) Another shows Neptune surrounded by 40 women the newspapers refer to as his “mistresses.” It’s possible there were that many willing sea nymphs in Neptune’s stories, but most women who draw the attention of Greek/Roman gods in mythology could be more accurately referred to as victims. So these portions can be roughly categorized as “violence against and subjugation of women.” If you want an antidote to this very Roman theme, I recommend dipping into Ovid’s poem, Metamorphoses. Ovid slyly undercuts the way the myths traditionally portrayed women and gives the whole subject a deeply humane feminist read. No wonder Augustus banished him to a lonely province along the Black Sea.
Trojan War Mosaic Focus
The stretch of mosaic depicting the Trojan War demonstrates the enduring popularity across the ages of the Homeric Iliad and the legends about this war. However, rather than bringing to life a distinct Homeric moment, the focus of the subject matter stays with a generic martial theme. The mosaic displays Greek soldiers carrying swords and shields. Beside the soldiers are the names of the leaders who took part in the Trojan War.
The detail and scale of these mosaics carry a magnificent feel. One article mentions the details of Hercules’ muscles. Nonetheless, I’m not drawn in by the artist’s choice of subjects. Recently archaeologists uncovered a mosaic in Britain that showed the final moment of the fight between Hector and Achilles. It also depicted the most heartrending scene in the Iliad when Priam begs Achilles for the body of his son. This artist in Byzantine Syria apparently didn’t want to go for emotionally compelling. Perhaps he or she had to play to a particular audience.
Links for photos and further reading re Trojan War Mosaic
I’ll give you links to a few articles about the mosaic that I found interesting. They include different photos so a quick look through more than one of them is handy if you actually want to study the mosaics themselves.
Smithsonian Magazine, “See the Stunning 1,600-Year-Old Mosaic Unearthed in Syria“
AL-Monitor, “Syria unearths stunning Roman-era mosaic“
Here to read about the Roman mosaic in Britain with scenes from the Iliad.