Abstract
The identification of the image known as the "Mona Lisa" portrayed in the floor mosaic from the Roman Dionysian villa at Sepphoris has been an issue of debate in the study of Roman mosaics. This figure has been variously identified as Aphrodite, due to the image of Eros hovering next to her; as symbolizing the virtue of modesty, in relation to the apparent wine-drinking contest in the main emblem; as the "woman of the family of the house", reflecting a sense of proportion, modesty, chastity, and propriety; and as the embodiment of Happiness - eudaimonia, "the mother of all virtues". However, due to the tendency of ancient art to generalization, and following a new reading of the overall mosaic, the argument presented here is that this figure is connected to a theological context and not a moral one, and should thus be perceived within a broader context of Roman thought. The contention here is that the issue at stake is not the identification of this figure as a specific woman, but of the spirit that she conveys. The two main world views that seem to be embodied by this image are Epicureanism and Neo-Platonism. This argument is examined here through a discussion of Epicurean and Neo-Platonic principles; and an examination of the metaphorical significance of the image of Eros as a key figure, and its comparison with images in the Orpheus mosaic from Jerusalem exhibited in the Archeological Museum at Istanbul, as images that echo symbolically the main emblem.
Highlights
The house of Dionysos at Sepphoris was erected in the late second or early third century AD
The identification of the image known as the ‘Mona Lisa’ portrayed in the floor mosaic from the Roman Dionysian villa at Sepphoris has been much debated in the study of Roman mosaics
The two main world views that seem to be embodied by this image are Epicureanism and Neo-Platonism
Summary
Bearing in mind the nature of ancient art to represent abstract concepts and general viewpoints by means of human images, my contention is that the question regarding the ‘Mona Lisa’ from Sepphoris should not be that of its identification as an illustration of a specific personality, but rather as a reflection of a broader context that embodies certain abstract and spiritual concepts anchored in Roman thought. The above reasoning supports the interpretation of the ‘Mona Lisa’ as a divine being detached from the mundane realm, in accordance with Epicurean thought, and symbolising the eternal happiness for which the hero yearned and achieved by means of the Dionysian Mysteries.
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