This book is the first of its kind to focus on the rich corpus of mosaics from Crete dated to the Roman and late-antique periods (first century b.c. to sixth century a.d.). S. has compiled an extensive catalogue of mosaics from both public and private contexts, and attempts to situate them against the general background of mosaic art in the wider empire and to deduce how these pavements augment our understanding of the social and cultural environment of Crete during the Roman period.
Much of the information comes from S.'s Ph.D. thesis, Roman and Early Christian Mosaics of Crete (Nottingham University, 1999), and from subsequent articles. S. has established herself as an authority on the Roman period in Crete, and this book demonstrates her vast knowledge of the subject.
The introduction sets out the main questions of the book and the context of the mosaics. The historical background of Crete from the late Hellenistic period to Late Antiquity is briefly outlined followed by a discussion of the island's topography, settlement patterns and economy. The introduction ends with S.'s theoretical approach to the subject of culture change by considering two alternative viewpoints to the theory of ‘Romanization’: ‘Globalization’ and ‘Christianization’. She argues that the mosaics of Roman Crete provide the archaeological evidence for the application of these two theories which are analysed in-depth in Chapter 7.
Chapter 2, ‘The Archaeology of Crete’, situates the mosaics in a framework of evidence from other contexts: graves, temples and churches, pottery, etc. S. suggests that the main reason for the establishment and growth of most sites during the Roman period appears to have been economic, primarily due to increased trade networks.
Chapter 3, ‘Iconography of Cretan Mosaics’, looks at the various elements found on Cretan mosaics over a period of 700 years. A large number of black-and-white geometric mosaics in the first century a.d. suggests Italian influence, while polychrome figural mosaics overwhelmingly dominate across Crete, as elsewhere in the empire, starting in the second century a.d. Of the figured mosaics, S. has identified scenes depicting deities such as Dionysus, Poseidon, Medusa, the Hours and Seasons. Athletic and hunting scenes seem also to have been popular and to these can be added scenes from the theatre, and animals and plants. S. suggests that the Cretan repertoire follows some empire-wide patterns in its breadth and iconography, but unique geometric elements help to formulate evidence of specific workshops and craftspeople (discussed in Chapter 6).
Chapter 4, ‘Date and Distribution’, focuses on the methods used to date mosaics – stratigraphy, inscriptions mentioning dates or individuals and, more commonly, iconography. S. states that with the exception of the mosaics on the site of the Health Centre at Kissamos, very few excavations have investigated the sealed strata below the floors to establish a terminus post quem. In the case of mosaics dated to the late-antique period, inscriptions and symbols (e.g. crosses, XP signs), help date the mosaics to Late Antiquity.
Chapter 5, ‘Urban and Architectural Contexts’, investigates the use of space in both public and private contexts. S. focuses on the so-called ‘Villa Dionysus’ at Knossos in order to show how the owner used lavishly decorated rooms to highlight his social standing. She rightly asserts that it is usually difficult to ascertain the function of individual rooms in a house based on mosaic decoration alone since rooms may have had multiple uses and may have changed over time. In the case of late-antique mosaics, S. suggests that the location of mosaics in churches (Cretan mosaics that can be associated with houses dated to Late Antiquity have not been published) indicates that visitors were the primary concern in terms of viewing orientation.
In Chapter 6, ‘Mosaics of Crete: Craftspeople, Technology and Workshops’, S. argues that mosaics provide both direct and indirect data on craftspeople and patrons in the Roman and late-antique periods. Mosaic signatures, found in both public and private contexts in several locations across the island, indicate that both local and eastern (primarily Syrian) craftspeople decorated Cretan mosaics. Two ‘workshops’ may be identified based on similarities in iconography: one at Knossos/Heraklion and another at Chania/Kissamos. In the late-antique period, Cretan mosaics were even more closely connected with the eastern workshops, no doubt as a result of Crete's closer religious links with the churches of the East.
Chapter 7, ‘The Provincial View, Globalization and Christianization’, attempts to explain the nature of culture change in Crete from the first century b.c. to Late Antiquity. S. recognises two major periods of culture change on the island: the late first century a.d., when changes in mosaic styles follow changes in settlement patterns, pottery imports, etc., suggesting a gradual shift away from Italian influences; and the late third/mid-fourth century a.d., when settlement patterns shifted again, with a marked preference for rural over urban life. Public buildings such as churches began to be built around this time and dominated urban centres such as Gortyn and Eleutherna, starting in the fourth century a.d. S. attributes the first period of culture change to the process of ‘Globalization’ and the second to the gradual ‘Christianization’ of the island's population. However, there may have been an additional component that brought this seeming culture change which S. does not emphasise enough. The earthquake of a.d. 365, with an estimated magnitude of 8.5, produced an uplift of up to 9 metres on the west part of the island. This catastrophic event may have been a major catalyst in the changing settlement pattern, and perhaps also the fervent embrace of the Christian faith by the Cretan population during the fourth century a.d.
This excellent book is not without a few limitations. One problem is S.'s view that Crete was relatively isolated before the Roman conquest, which ‘allowed the stories of its harbouring of pirates or its warring city-states to be perpetuated’ (p. 150). S. uses the argument of Crete's pre-Roman ‘isolation’ in order to emphasise her theory of ‘Globalization’ after the first century of the island's incorporation into the Roman empire: ‘What the Romans did for Crete was provide the island with the ability to fit into their expanding empire, in part through globalization; in doing so, they made Crete part of the Roman network society’ (p. 150). Yet, we are not given any concrete evidence of Crete's ‘isolation’ before the Roman period; its harbouring of pirates and warring city-states did not make the island isolated from other areas of the Mediterranean at all and there is no historical or archaeological evidence to suggest that this was indeed the case.
Equally problematic is S.'s emphasis on a north/south divide in the distribution of mosaics during the Roman period: ‘The high density of mosaics in the north throughout the second and third centuries reflects the changing focus and the possible rise in importance of the harbours and towns on Crete's northern coast’ (p. 138). She claims that cities on the north coast had a much greater number of mosaics than those of the south coast, and that there was a marked preference for mosaic floors in northern harbour towns (e.g. Kissamos, Kydonia, Chersonisos, etc.) as opposed to southern towns (e.g. Gortyn, Hierapytna, etc.). However, one has to wonder how much of this conclusion is due to excavation bias and the fragmentary nature of the archaeological record, especially since, with the exception of Gortyn, the cities on the south coast have not been given as much attention archaeologically or, as in the case of Hierapytna, lie directly under modern towns and are almost impossible to excavate.
Despite these minor limitations, however, this well-written and beautifully illustrated book with its extremely useful catalogue provides an excellent overview of the mosaics in an area of the Roman empire with much potential for further work.
