Wolfson Syme Lecture 2022 - by Professor Katherine Dunbabin

The annual Syme Lecture will be delivered in 2022 by Professor Katherine Dunbabin from the Department of Classics at McMaster University, Canada.

The lecture will take place in the Leonard Wolfson Auditorium (LWA).

Please see lecture title and abstract below:

'Writing on the Floor. Inscriptions on Roman mosaic pavements: uses, locations, audiences'

The floor seems to us an inconvenient place to write anything that demands prolonged attention, but from their first appearance mosaics and related forms of pavement were regarded in the Graeco-Roman world as an appropriate location for written messages. Inscriptions are particularly frequent on mosaics of the later Empire from about AD 200, and are widely used in domestic contexts. These messages display a much greater range and variety than one might expect. On the one hand there are inscriptions that give information about an image, such as the common use of name labels in figured scenes, as well as signatures of artists/craftsmen or of the patrons responsible for the work. On the other there are literary quotations, philosophical maxims, salutations to successful stars of circus or amphitheatre, acclamations for euergetic benefactors, and a few really idiosyncratic expressions. A common group greets visitors with auspicious wishes or alternatively aims to exclude those who might have evil intentions; while a related group salute the patrons and their families. All raise questions about context: how were they to be read, by whom, and to whom were they addressed? Many demand a response from their readers, and that requires us to consider their precise location. Where was the optimal position for deciphering the text, especially a mosaic that demanded more careful attention? Some messages could be read conveniently from a dining couch or while idling in the bath; others occupy positions in a peristyle or corridor, areas that we think of as intended for movement. Some are long and elaborate, like the verse inscriptions, in Greek and Latin, that were popular especially in Late Antiquity, and these would have required lengthy observation from a specific standpoint if they were to be deciphered. These mosaics were designed to elicit a particular form of behaviour on the part of their readers, a response directly tied to their physical location in the building; seen in this light, they can help us better envisage the way the building was used.

PLEASE NOTE:
Every effort is made to credit copyright in these events, but we would always be delighted to hear from copyright owners to include any credits due in future.

[romanmosaics]

Very interesting lecture, thanks for sharing this. 👍