La mosaïque du temple de Despoina à Lykosoura

Abstract

Restoration work in 2004 on the pavement of the temple of Despoina at Lykosoura by the E'Ephorate at Sparta, allowed for it to be photographed and drawn anew and permitted a renewed study of this mosaic which is exceptional not only for its iconography (heraldic lions) and its placement in the cella in front of the cultic statue group, but also for its technique (chipped stone and irregular tessellatum). The study has demonstrated the incorporation of the pavement’s decoration into the edifice. The comparisons made as regards the overall composition of the mosaic, the geometric and floral decoration, and the techniques employed by the mosaic workshops in the Peloponnese have led to date the pavement to the second half of the 3rd century or -the latest- to the beginning of the 2nd century BC.