As mentioned in the previous post, almost all of the remnants of the Byzantine palaces are long gone except for a brief part of the wall facing the water. About a generation ago, however, renovations of a market area nearby revealed an elaborate collection of floor mosaics from the old Byzantine palace complex from about the time of Justinian (500s CE). Our tour group of scholars went to investigate this little known museum that holds the collection of mosaics. The fee for entrance was paid for by the university, which I didn’t expect. In fact ISU paid for all of the fees for this tour.
The tiled mosaics look much like old mosaics in ancient Rome for good reason. The Byzantines were after all the successors to the Roman Empire. They were not called Byzantines until long after their empire ended. Instead they called themselves Romans. I am growing more fascinated by the Byzantines because they have a Christian religion in a Greek culture with Roman politics tied into Asian and African economic systems. Global multiculturalism 4th century C.E.
The mosaics mostly display secular hunting and outdoors scenes. I saw none of the Christian references that so predominate in other Byzantine sites that I visited. Some are quite whimsical. Our professor guide’s area of specialty is ancient hunting practices, so this museum and its mosaics was a treasure trove for his research.
Great post! I've never seen mosaics quite like this before, and it's helpful to have the photographs and the background information.
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