Life's rich pattern: decoration as evidence for room function in Hellenistic houses

Author(s): Ruth Westgate

Source: British School at Athens Studies , 2007, Vol. 15, BUILDING COMMUNITIES:
House, Settlement and Society in the Aegean and Beyond (2007), pp. 313-321
Published by: British School at Athens

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/40960601

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 34
Life's rich pattern: decoration as evidence
for room function in Hellenistic houses
Ruth Westgate

Room function in ancient houses is notoriouslycause the needs of the occupants had changed. This
difficult to identify (Allison 1993; Foxhall, thispaper can therefore only consider what we might call
volume). The best way to determine what activitiesthe 'primary' function of the room.
took place where is to study the distribution of artefacts In late Classical and early Hellenistic houses fine
in the house, but even that is fraught with difficulties,decoration is most commonly found in rooms with
which are compounded by the frequent failure of raised borders for dining-couches (Westgate 1997-98,
excavators to record the findspots of objects, or, in94-100); decoration is thus clearly associated with the
some cases, to record certain categories of material at
area of the house in which guests were received. It is
all (Ault and Nevett 1999; cf. the concerns of Triimper, often assumed that this was also the case in late Hell-
this volume, p. 323). Thus the main purpose of thisenistic houses, but by the late Hellenistic period a much
paper is to ask how much we can tell about the functionwider range of types and sizes of room have elaborate
of rooms from the decoration of their walls and floors,decoration (Westgate 1997-98, 108). A secondary aim
which are more likely than portable objects to be of this paper, therefore, is to re-examine the supposed
preserved in situ and also more likely to be reported.
connection between fine decoration and dining.
The houses studied date from the late Hellenistic
period, mainly from the second half of the second ROOM TYPE AND DECORATION
century and the early first century BC; the evidence is
therefore dominated by the well-preserved remains All
of the painted wall plaster in the houses und
Delos, and of Morgantina and Soluntum in Sicily.consideration belongs to the Masonry Style, in wh
Because few contextual studies of artefacts are the wall is divided into courses of blocks, imitati
available, it is not possible to look for associations stone construction (FIG. 34. i).1 This style offers
between particular decorative features and types of flexibility of expression than, for example, the Fo
domestic equipment, which might allow us to identify Style paintings at Pompeii analysed by Allison (19
function from the decoration in cases where room In a study of all the preserved paintings from D
contents are missing or unrecorded. This paper will Alabe (1993a) showed that the same basic scheme
therefore focus on the relationship between decorationused in all types of room; the structure of t
and architectural form: first by looking for correlationsdecoration was not varied to distinguish function.
between types of room and types of decoration; second only variation is in the degree of elaboration: at
by examining how the design of the decoration relatessimplest, the scheme may be outlined in coloured p
to the space; and third by asking whether particularor incision on a white surface, but the more elabo
subjects or themes are favoured for the decoration ofexamples are painted in many colours, and of
particular types of room. moulded in relief, with bevelled-edge blocks, p
It must be admitted, however, that this approach jecting friezes and cornices, and occasionally stuc
inevitably rests on the assumption that rooms of similarpilasters (Westgate 2ooo¿, 397-400). Different lev
form had the same function in different houses,of elaboration seem to be chosen to create a hierar
although CahilPs study of the distribution of artefacts of spaces in the house, which is presumably relate
in the houses at Olynthos demonstrates how room use, but the range of elaboration in each h
questionable this is (Cahill 2002, chapters 3 and 4,must have depended on the householder's mean
especially 147). Even where a room is clearly designedmuch as on the function of particular rooms. Ala
specifically for a particular purpose - like the Classical
dining room with its raised border for couches - we
cannot exclude the possibility that it was used for a
wider range of activities on different occasions or at
1 There is not space here to consider the 'liturgical' painti
different times of day. Also, the form and decoration on Delos, which are usually found on exterior walls, b
of a room may relate to a function which was no longer occasionally appear inside the houses. See Bezerra de Mene
current, either because customs had changed, or be- 1984, 82-8.

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 314 RUTH WESTGATE
- -
compared the complexity of wall plaster with room
size (1993a, 143, fig. 3), and found that all levels of
elaboration appear across the whole size range, although
plainer schemes are more common in smaller rooms,
and more ornate versions in larger spaces. The only
feature that gives a clear indication of function is a
band of red waterproof plaster along the bottom of
the wall, made with crushed ceramic aggregate: this is
often found in latrines and baths (Alabe 1993a, 141,
fig. 1), and thus it seems likely that when it appears
elsewhere, it indicates a function involving water.
Floors, however, are more informative, as there are
distinct patterns in the distribution of different types
of paving in the house.2 Some are associated with
utilitarian functions, being typically found in rooms
identifiable from their fittings or contents as kitchens,
bathrooms, toilets, and industrial or craft spaces
(Trümper's type i, this volume, p. 323). The hardest-
wearing floors of stone slabs or cobblestones (FIG. 34.2
a) were used mainly in outdoor areas. Pavements of
broken tile pieces (FIG. 34.2 b) are often found in
latrines (e.g. Delos 88, 97, 274), and therefore seem
likely to indicate a utilitarian function elsewhere.
Whole tiles (FIG. 34.2 c) are unusual, and seem to be
chosen for their water-resistance: in a circular room
on Delos they are accompanied by the characteristic
red waterproof wall plaster, moulded to seal the
junction with the floor (Delos 56, îlot des bronzes,
room EP: Siebert 2001, 56-7, pls. 25.1, 26.3-4). This
may have been a heated bath (Trümper 1998, 180-4;
compare Delos 20 and 21, in a non-domestic context),
and certainly tiles pave an earlier bathroom at Olynthos
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ISODOMIC
FRIEZE
ORTHOSTATS
PLINTH Fig. 34.1. Basic Masonry
Style scheme.
(House A2, room d: Robinson 1930, 46). The scored
surface of the tiles in room n of the Maison des sceaux
on Delos may have provided extra grip when they
were wet; alternatively, Siebert suggests that the tiles
may have protected grain stored in the room from rising
damp (Siebert 2001, 89, pl. 41.4). At Morgantina tiles
were used in the open area of peristyles (e.g. House of
the Arched Cistern, House of the Tuscan Capitals:
Tsakirgis 1990, figs. 7, 13), and in a kitchen (House of
the Arched Cistern, 16: Tsakirgis 1990, fig. 7). Rooms
with these basic types of pavement tend to have
relatively plain wall plaster.
In contrast, the finer, ornamental types of flooring,
tessellated mosaic (FIG. 34.2 d) and opus sedile
(cut-stone work: FIG. 34.2 e), tend to be found in
rooms which have no fittings to indicate a particular
function (Trümper's type iii, this volume, pp. 323-
6). They were used on both ground and upper floors,
and also outdoors, in peristyles more often than
in uncolonnaded courtyards. They are generally
accompanied by fine wall plaster, although not all
rooms with elaborate paintings have decorated floors.3
2 Pavements on Delos are identified by their catalogue numbers
in Bruneau 1972, in the form 'Delos xxx'
3 It is likely, however, that some had perishable and potentially
expensive flooring materials, such as carpets or parquet, as
suggested by Bruneau et al (1970, 36-7) for rooms N and J in
the Maison des comédiens.
 LIFE'S RICH PATTERN: DECORATION AS EVIDENCE FOR ROOM FUNCTION 3 1 5

Fig. 34.2. Hellenistic paving types: (a) stone slabs; (b) broken tile pieces; (c) terracotta tiles; (d) tessellated mosaic;
(e) opus sectile; (f) stone chips; (g) opus signinum.

Some types of flooring are less clearly definable. are planned with the court off-centre so that these
Plain earth is by far the most common floor surface in rooms are larger (Westgate 2000^, 424-6). On Delos
Hellenistic houses, and many have nothing else, even at least, upper floors received particularly lavish
in their grandest rooms. Pavements of white stone decoration (Bruneau 1972, 105-6; Alabe 19930, X43);
chips (FIG. 34.2 f) are found in rooms of all shapes but these often formed separate apartments (Trümper,
and sizes, some clearly utilitarian (e.g. Delos 91, 108, this volume, pp. 331-2), and thus the rooms are likely
1 13 in latrines), others not; they are also used outdoors to have duplicated the functions of the ground-floor
(e.g. Delos 213, 220, 266). They are sometimes rooms as well as their shapes.
elaborated with simple decoration in a contrasting In only a few cases can the function of decorated
colour, most commonly a border of broken tile pieces rooms be determined with any certainty. The vestibule
(e.g. Delos 135, 254, 260). This type of floor is found is obviously identified by its location, but is rarely
mainly in the eastern Mediterranean; in the west, opus decorated (only six out of about 200 domestic mosaics
signinum (a red mortar made with crushed terracotta: are in vestibules). Three bathrooms have fine (though
FIG. 34.2 g) serves a similar range of rooms. This simple) mosaics, which would have been practical as
too may be elaborated with contrasting chips or cubes well as decorative; but most private bathrooms are
of stone; the complexity of the decoration varies relatively modest. A room in Palace V at Pergamon,
widely, from a random scatter to intricate geometric with an extremely elaborate mosaic designed around
patterns (e.g. FIG. 34.5). a large altar or statue-base, was apparently a cult
The rooms which received fine wall plaster and room, a function which was probably peculiar to a
mosaic floors are marked out as being the best in the royal palace (FIG. 34.4).
house in other ways: they tend to be the most There are, however, two distinctive room-types
prominent, opening directly off the court or peristyle which are frequently decorated if they are present in
(cf. Trümper, this volume, p. 331), and where possible the house: a large rectangular room with a door to the
they are in the northern part of the house, which we court on the long side, often flanked by windows
know from literary sources was regarded as the most ('broad room': FIG. 34.3 b' and a room, usually small,
comfortable in the Greek climate (Xenophon, with one side open across its whole width (exedra: FIG.
Oikonomikos ix 4; Memorabilia iii 8 9-10); many houses 34.5); the function of these rooms is uncertain.

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 3l6 RUTH WESTGATE

DESIGN AND FUNCTION the transition (e.g. opus signinum floors at Morgantina,
House of the Arched Cistern, rooms 24, 25, 26:
However, there are sometimes clues to room Tsakirgis 1990, 430, nos. 22, 23, 25).
function
Suchfloors,
in the design of the decoration, especially the explicit marking of functional divisions is
as in most rooms the Masonry Style scheme characteristic
is applied of Hellenistic pavements in Sicily and
uniformly around the walls. There are twoItaly,
basicandtypes
continues in the Roman mosaic tradition
of pavement design: the all-over design, in(e.g. Sweetman,
which the this volume, pp. 367-70); it derives
from
same pattern is repeated continuously across thethe indigenous technique of opus signinum.
whole
Further east, however, the concentric composition
floor (FIG. 34.3 a), and the concentric composition,
which consists of bands of decorationisframing
almost universal.
a This originated in Classical
central field (FIG. 34.3 b). These do relate pebble mosaics in dining rooms, where it suited the
to function
principal viewpoint from the couches around the walls
to some extent: all-over designs are more characteristic
of circulation spaces, whereas the concentric(Westgate
type1997-98,
is 102), and it is therefore often
assumed that
preferred in what Clarke (1979, 4-6) described asin later Hellenistic mosaics it still
'served' or 'static' spaces. The reason for this indicates a dining function.
preference
Certainly most mosaics still have a plain outer
is obvious: an all-over pattern presents a satisfactory
appearance from any angle for a viewer border, often about a metre wide, and often paved in
moving
through the space, whereas the concentric acomposition
coarser material than the rest of the floor (as in FIG.
creates a central focus in the room. However,
34.3 b), which
the suggests that it was intended to be
distribution of the types is different inhidden under couches. But when the rooms are
different
flooring techniques: in opus signinum, examined more closely, it becomes clear that couches
all-over
patterns predominate in circulation spaces, but both fit into them neatly. Classical dining
do not always
roomswhereas
types of design are found in enclosed rooms; are often of standard sizes to accommodate a
in mosaics the concentric composition is certain
used in number
all of couches (e.g. 4.5 x 4.5 m = seven
couches), and
types of space, and all-over designs are rare, although they have only one entrance, whose off-
the few examples are almost all in circulation spaces is determined by the arrangement of
centre position
(e.g. Delos 11, 44, 45). the couches; no further rooms open off them. In
These two broad types could be adaptedHellenistic
to reflect houses, on the other hand, the shape and
patterns of use or movement in the room. Asize of decorated rooms vary widely: sizes are not
departure
chosen
from a strictly concentric scheme may to coincide
indicate a with multiples of a uniform couch-
particular viewpoint, as in the 'Altar Room' length,
of and the presence of doors opening off the back
Palace
or sides
V at Pergamon (FIG. 34.4), where the central area of of the room would further disrupt any
the mosaic was divided into three parallel permanentbandsarrangement of couches (cf. Trümper, this
oriented towards the entrance and thusvolume, facing FIG.the
35.5-6). It seems that it was no longer
spectator, who was prevented from entering necessary
the roomto have a room constructed specifically for
the traditional
by a metal barrier across the opening (Kawerau and symposium.
Wiegand 1930, 31, fig. 39, text pl. 26). The design of the floors bears this out. In earlier
The most common addition, however, is dining rooms, the border for couches is often raised,
a decorated
element to mark the entrance. In mosaics,but thisusually
this is rare in late Hellenistic rooms, which suggests
that a more
takes the form of a small panel set into the outer border flexible use was envisaged. Moreover, in
some rooms
in front of the door (as in FIG. 34.3 b). Where a room couches would have encroached on the
decorated
has more than one door, only the entrance frompartthe of the mosaic (cf. Trümper, this volume,
courtyard is marked, which suggests thatpp.the
326-30, FIG. 35.5-6). It seems likely that this did
rooms
opening off the decorated room were lessnot matter to the users: even in spacious 'broad rooms',
important;
the plain
these rooms are usually relatively plain. outer border is sometimes narrower than a
In opus
couch-width
signinum, and in some mosaics in the west, the panel is (e.g. the front and rear of Delos 236:
Trümper,
replaced by a decorated strip across the doorway this volume, FIG. 35.4, room K; and the
itself,
between the door jambs (FIG. 34.5). front of Delos 215: Trümper, this volume, FIG. 35.2,
Similar decorated strips sometimes mark room G). Conversely, some mosaics have a much wider
divisions
of space within the room, and in one type plain
ofborder
room than was necessary, perhaps for reasons
this allows us to identify the function. In of a economy
few small - or, possibly, to accommodate the wider
rooms, a strip marks off an inner area for acouches of a Roman-style triclinium (e.g. Delos 276,
bed, which
Trümper, than
typically has a less dense or less complex pattern this volume, FIG. 35.6 c' Morgantina, House
the rest of the floor, and is sometimesofraised the Tuscan
(e.g.Capitals, room 10: Tsakirgis 1990, 433-
mosaics in rooms G and O of the Casa di Leda at 4, no. 51). The width of the border could even vary
Soluntum: Westgate 20000, fig. 4; cf. Sweetman, this along the length of a single wall, because in irregularly
volume, p. 368, FIG. 39.3-4). In some cases there is no shaped rooms a rectilinear decorated 'carpet' was always
dividing strip, and a change in density alone marks preferred: in Delos 179, for instance, the border varies

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 LIFE'S RICH PATTERN: DECORATION AS EVIDENCE FOR ROOM FUNCTION 317

Fig. 34.3. Pavement

composition types:
(a) all-over scheme in opus
signinum (Morgantina,
House of Ganymede,
peristyle); (b) concentric
scheme in mosaic (Delos 2joy
Quartier du Théâtre III S,
room D).

from about 120 cm to about 50 cm - too narrow for
couches - but the mosaic looks symmetrical when
viewed through the door from the courtyard (Bruneau
1972, fig. 149).
In fact, a desire for symmetry, rather than the
arrangement of furniture, often seems to have
dominated the design of both rooms and mosaics. In
Classical dining rooms, the door is off-centre, to
coincide with a gap between couches, and the mosaic
threshold panel is usually aligned with the door. In
Hellenistic rooms, however, a central door is preferred,
which is inconsistent with the traditional arrangement
of couches (e.g. Delos 214, 217, 236); in 'broad rooms'
this may be flanked by windows or narrower doors,
enhancing the symmetrical effect. In room AL of the
Ilot des bijoux on Delos, we may be able to observe
the change of fashion taking effect (Delos 68, Trümper,
this volume, FIG. 35.5 a): the off-centre threshold
mosaic on the north side probably marks the position
of the original door, but when the room was transferred
to the neighbouring House V, the new entrance from
the south was placed on the axis of the room, with a
symmetrical threshold mosaic (Siebert 2001, 38-41).
Where a central door was not possible, the
appearance of symmetry was sometimes retained in
the mosaic design: in Delos 261, for instance, the
threshold panel is on the axis of the main decorated
'carpet' rather than aligned with the door (Trümper,

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3 1 8 R UTH WESTGA TE

Fig. 34.4 (left). Mosaic in the 'Altar Roo

Palace V, Pergamon (Kawerau and Wieg
1930, pl. XII).

Fig. 24-5 (below). Opus signinum pavem

an exedra, with a concentric design and a
dividing strip across the doorway (Soluntu
Insula 5, room M).

Fig. 34.6. Concentric design

in a courtyard (Debs 171 '
Maison à une seule colonne)

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 LIFE'S RICH PATTERN: DECORATION AS EVIDENCE FOR ROOM FUNCTION 319
this volume, FIG. 35.5/). The most striking example
of the desire for visual symmetry is in room E of House
III Qjn the Quartier du Théâtre on Délos, where a
small tessellated rectangle is set in a floor of stone chips
(Delos 267: Triimper, this volume, FIG. 35.5 c). Its
design, with a threshold panel of the same width as
the main 'carpet', is typical of small rooms, especially
exedras (compare Delos 54, 72, 73, Triimper, this
volume, FIG. 35.6 b). But here it is used in a 'broad
room' with a wide, off-centre door and a second,
narrower opening, and the whole mosaic is shifted
towards the central axis of the room, leaving the
'threshold panel' partly adjacent to a wall (the door
does not appear to have been moved). The original
relationship of the mosaic design to the space has been
abandoned in favour of symmetry.
The appearance of the concentric floor scheme in
rooms which were certainly not intended for dining
suggests that it had become purely conventional. It
translates quite naturally into the central area of a
peristyle, where the view from the enclosing colonnades
is analogous to the view from the couches in a dining
room (e.g. Delos 93, 210, 229 = Triimper, this volume,
FIG. 35.4), but in the Maison du trident on Delos
(Delos 228, FIG. 35.4) the scheme has also been adapted
to pave the colonnades themselves, according to an
obvious logic: the main concentric 'carpet' is used to
emphasise the broad north portico, and small panels,
like the traditional threshold panel, mark the entrances
to the peristyle from the vestibules. In the Maison à
une seule colonne, a rectilinear, concentric design is
used in the irregularly-shaped courtyard (FIG. 34.6),
forming an awkward angle with the eponymous
column, which was in place when the mosaic was laid;
a rectangular 'mat' on a different alignment marks the
entrance from the street (Delos 171: Bruneau 1972,
figs. 145-7). The concentric composition is also used
in vestibule mosaics; in one (Delos 10), a chequerboard
pattern, which normally appears in circulation spaces
as an all-over design (Delos 11, 44, 45), is enclosed in
rectangular borders to create a concentric 'feel',
although two separate 'carpets' are needed to cover
the irregular space of the room. Concentric designs
also appear in the front area of rooms with a bed-
space at the rear (Soluntum, Casa di Leda, G;
Pergamon, House of the Consul Attalus, 38: Bingöl
1997, fig. 67), and in some rooms which seem too small
to be used for dining (e.g. Maison du trident, J: Delos
235, Triimper, this volume, FIG. 35.6 d)' many exedras
also fall into the latter category.
This enduring preference for the concentric
composition is sometimes attributed to the need to
frame a central figured panel, but in fact such panels
are relatively rare (Westgate 20000, 264). Perhaps
instead it was retained because it summoned up the
ambience of the^ traditional dining room and
symposium. In the îlot des bijoux, the raised surround
of Delos 68 (FIG. 35.5 0), with its marble edging, may
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be an explicit attempt to evoke the prestige of the
Classical dining room, an effect reinforced by the semi-
circular marble outlines of the symmetrical threshold
mosaic, which seem to trace the track of non-existent
monumental doors (Biising-Kolbe 1988, 99-102). It
seems possible that a 'carpet' motif, however
rudimentary, still lent a room a desirable aura, even if
it was not used for dining. Similarly, concentric designs
in opus signinum are probably borrowed from the eastern
mosaic tradition (FIG. 34.5): they are relatively unusual,
and the concentric element may be as subtle as an
increased density of patterning in the centre of the floor
(e.g. Morgantina, House of the Arched Cistern, room
14; House of the Tuscan Capitals, 35: Tsakirgis 1990,
430, no. 20; 434, no. 56). That the concentric scheme
was regarded as prestigious is suggested by Tsakirgis'
observation (1990, 442) that at Morgantina, opus
signinum floors with concentric designs tended to be
found in 'androns or large formal rooms' - the same
types of room as expensive mosaics. Once again, it
seems that the original connection of the concentric
scheme to dining is disregarded, as these pavements
sometimes have the most elaborate border around the
outside of the room, in place of the conventional plain
band for couches (e.g. House of the Doric Capital,
rooms 1 and 8: Tsakirgis 1990, 427-8, nos. 1, 4).
SUBJECT AND ROOM TYPE
Another possible source of evidence is the subject
matter of the decoration. Many decorative motifs have
a Dionysiac flavour, and these too are often seen as
indicating a dining or reception function. However, a
comprehensive survey shows that we cannot assume a
simple relationship between the function of a room
and the subjects represented in its decoration.
Most decoration on walls and floors is non-figural
and has no particular theme. Figured scenes play only
a minor role in the ubiquitous Masonry Style
paintings: they are confined to the frieze, and are found
in only a very small proportion of rooms. The hundred
or so houses on Delos, for instance, yielded only 12
figured friezes (Kreeb 1988, 55-7). Only about 20%
of mosaics have anything other than geometric and
vegetal decoration, including several whose subject is
unknown because their central figured panel has been
removed. Figurai motifs are rare in opus signinum, and
not present at all in other types of paving.
No clear associations can be observed between motifs
and particular types of room, partly because the
number of motifs with an identifiable theme is so
small. Dionysos himself appears in only four mosaics:
one is in a 'broad room' (Delos 214), one in a peristyle
(Delos 293, assuming that the winged figure is
Dionysos), and two were not found in situ, but
probably came from upstairs rooms (Delos 169, 344).
Members of Dionysos' retinue also appear in a variety
of contexts: centaurs holding a kantharos and possibly
 320 RUTH WESTGATE

a torch flank Dionysos inher assignation

Délos with 214, Ares: Silenos
Quartier du Stade II B,
appears
in a smaller room (DelosBezerra
216) de Meneses
nearby, 1984, fig. 2),and
and never in mosaic,
Ariadne in
a painted frieze from an but on Delos surviving
upper floor,statues which of Aphrodite
also seems
outnumber those de
to show Dionysiac rites (Bezerra of Dionysos
Meneses and his followers
1984, by 79,
37 to eight figure
fig. 3). Only one Dionysiac (Kreeb 1988, 58-60).
makes Sculptures are
explicit
reference to drinking: on rarely found in situ,from
a mosaic and thus areSalemi,
of little help in a
deter-
male
figure, perhaps a satyr, mining
raises room function.
a kantharos, above the
Few other subjects
inscription: XAIPE, or 'cheers!' (vonsuggestBoeselager
any particular function1983,
or appear
pl. IV). Its context was not regularly in any particular
recorded, although type of room.
it Inmust
mosaic, for instance,
have been in a roughly square room. Dionysos' popularity is rivalled
Inscriptions elsewhere also
by that allude
of marine tocommonly
motifs, most a convivial
dolphins
(eight examples), at
function: one in opus signinum often Iaitas
twined about an anchor or the
exhorts
trident, which
viewer to drink and be merry are found in 'broad
(Peristyle rooms' (Delos
House 1, 217),
room
large3).
17: Isler 1986, 72-3, fig. squareVessels
rooms (Delos 68,connected
261), peristyles (Deloswith
210, 228), and on
wine-drinking have an obvious upper floors (Delos too:
relevance 166); theyaseem
mosaic
to have been considered kings
in the palace of the Kommagenian particularly appropriate
at Samosata for
thresholds (four
depicts an amphora, perhaps out of eight,
a Chian wineplus one container
each of the
trident
(Bingöl 1997, pl. 24.2); but a and anchor alone).
painted Fish may have
frieze in beenroom a A
of Palace IV at Pergamon,
favourite decorated with
subject for fine central panels griffins
because of their
favoured status(Kawerau
flanking kraters and thymiateria as food, but there
andis notWiegand
enough
evidence
1930, pl. VII), may relate to show thatto
instead theya decorated dining rooms, cult
Dionysiac
as only one of the three
(see below). Scrolls of ivy and vine, both associated securely domestic examples
with Dionysos, appear occasionally (e.g. Delos further
was found in situ (Delos 328, in an exedra; a 61, 215,
216). Two mosaics depict three were reused in
myths Roman houses).
linked to wine, the
In all types of room there is Tsakirgis
abduction of Ganymede (Morgantina: a preference for light-
1989,
hearted images alluding
figs. 11-13), and Ambrosia being transformed to entertainment and pleasure,
into a
vine under Lykourgos' axefertile (Delos
abundance, beauty
69);and thecharm:former
apart from is
in a room which could Dionysos
have and been
Aphrodite,used
mythological
for subjects are
dining,
rare, but Erotes,
while the latter came from animals and birds upper
a collapsed appear frequently,
storey.
both as subjects
The number of motifs which can be strongly in their own right, and populating
associated
the numerous
with dining is so small that no scrolls, garlands and rosettes.
significant patternMany can
be observed in their distribution.4
motifs allude to victory or good fortune, such as prize
vases, palm branches,
The aspect of the Dionysiac world olivewhich
crowns and purses (Delos
is most
commonly represented is 217, the
234, 325), and a garland ofusually
theatre, green and yellow in the
form of masks. Of ten ribbons, which may be a victor's
examples, sixfillet are(Morgantina,
securely
House of Ganymede,
domestic: two decorate large 'broad room rooms'
2: Tsakirgis 1989,
(afig. 5);
painted
thisDelos,
frieze of dramatic scenes, and the prizes of Delos 325 des
Maison decorate threshold
comédiens,
panels, which
room N: Bruneau et al. 1970, could be21-5;
pls. read as a wish
and for good
a luck to
mosaic,
accompany people
Delos 215, depicting a series ofentering
masks the room.linked by an
Onlymask-and-garland
ivy scroll); two mosaics with two motifs can be directly related to the
borders
are in large squareish rooms, function ofonethe space they adorn.
with a Araised
vestibule mosaic
border
(Delos 68; Palermo, Piazza at Delos incorporates
della the apotropaic 'sign of House
Vittoria, Tanit', B,
room 1: von Boeselager 1983, which seems pls.
particularly appropriate to the
XI-XIII); an entrance
mosaic
in the so-called 'Throne Room' at Samosata had a (Delos 209). Two rooms in the palaces at Pergamon
central comic mask (Bingöl 1997, pl. 24.1); and thehad installations which were thought to indicate a cult
'Altar Room' in Palace V at Pergamon had a comicfunction (the Altar Room of Palace V and, less securely,
and a tragic mask (FIG. 34.4), which suggests that the the 'Hearth Room' [A] of Palace IV), and both had
cult in the room was dedicated to Dionysos. All but mosaics decorated with garlands tied into swags (FIG.
the last of these rooms were large enough to be used 34.4; Kawerau and Wiegand 1930, pls. IX, XII-XIV).
for dining, although there is no clear evidence for their The only other mosaic garland of this type is also in a
function; the popularity of theatrical motifs mayreligious context, namely the Temple of Hera at
simply reflect the popularity of drama.
Furthermore, Dionysos and his world are far from
being the dominant theme in the decoration of houses,
being represented in only about 15 mosaics and three
painted friezes. Aphrodite was probably at least as4 Compare the conclusions of Ling in his study of Roman
conspicuous: she rarely appears in paintings (a painted triclinia (Ling 1995), and the remarks of Hales in this volume,
frieze from Delos shows the Judgement of Paris and PP- 335-7-

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 LIFE 'S RICH PA TTERN: DECORA TION AS E VI DEN CE FOR ROOM FUNCTION 3 2 1

Pergamon (Schazmann 1923, Beiblatt 7, pls. XXXII, marking the distinction between 'public' and 'private'
XXXV), which suggests that the motif, with its areas. These rooms are much more integrated with
obvious cult associations, may have been chosen to the rest of the house than the Classical dining room:
suit the function of the space (although, on the other they have no anterooms, they often give access to
hand, it may simply have been a favourite motif of further rooms, and the carefully created views of
the workshop which probably made all three mosaics).5 decorative features through doors and windows suggest
In short, although some decoration can be linked that there was no concern to restrict sight-lines (see
to activities that may have taken place in the room, above, pp. 316-17, and Kreeb 1988, 33-51). It is
some clearly cannot, and most has no obvious possible that rising living standards meant that the
significance beyond a general desire to create a pleasant householder and his family now lived primarily in
ambience or reflect well on the owner. The tendency decorated rooms, marking their social distance from
to mix motifs in the same room defies attempts to their slaves - and their less fortunate neighbours -
identify coherent thematic programmes: dolphins, for by the pleasantness of their surroundings.
instance, are juxtaposed with the drinking satyr on However, even if the grand rooms were no longer
the mosaic at Salemi, with victory motifs on Delos intended primarily for dining, elements from the style
217, and with gods and comic masks on Delos 68. of decoration traditionally used in dining rooms were
There is certainly not enough evidence to identify the retained; the style may have been valued for precisely
function of a room from the subject matter of its these associations. Our view may be distorted by the
decoration alone. disproportionate quantity of evidence from Delos,
where the structure of both houses and households is
CONCLUSIONS unlikely to have been typical; but the unparalleled mix-
ture of statuses and nationalities in the island's trading
The conclusions proposed here are essentially negative:
population may have produced unusually promising
neither the design of interior decor nor conditions
the choice for of
social climbing, and, in consequence, a
subject constitutes reliable evidence for room function.
unique opportunity for us to observe the effect of social
The most that can be said is that decoration was used aspiration on fashions in interior design.
to create a hierarchy of spaces within the house, which
must relate in some way to the activities that took ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
place in the rooms; but matching individual examples
of decoration to specific activities is not straight- I would like to thank the referees for their help
forward. Service functions are often associated with comments, and Monika Trümper for some stimula
rough types of pavement and basic forms of wall discussions of Delos.
plaster, and it would be surprising if the best rooms
in the house were not those in which guests were
entertained; but between the work of slaves and the
formal dinner-party are a wide range of household
activities and occasions, and it remains unclear where
5 There are a few cases in non-domestic contexts where the
on the decorative 'spectrum' these belong.
motifs used reflect the function of the building: for instance, a
What does seem to emerge, however, is a move away
bath at Soluntum has a threshold mosaic depicting an
from having a room or rooms designed explicitly for unguentarium, which might have been used by the bathers
formal dining. This may indicate that the decorated (von Boeselager 1983, pl. XVI. 32), and the pavement of
rooms were used for a wider variety of social occasions, Temple B in the Letoon at Xanthos shows the lyre and quiver
or even that the decoration was no longer simply of Apollo (Bingöl 1997, fig. 64).

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