The Role of Late Antique Art in Early Christian Worship A Reconsideration of The Iconography of The 'Starry Sky' in The 'Mausoleum' of Galla Placidia

The role of late antique art in early Christian worship: a reconsideration of the
iconography of the 'starry sky' in the 'Mausoleum' of Galla Placidia

Author(s): Ellen Swift and Anne Alwis
Source: Papers of the British School at Rome , 2010, Vol. 78 (2010), pp. 193-217, 352-354
Published by: British School at Rome
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/41725294
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Papers of the British School at Rome 78 (2010), pp. 193-217 and 352-4
The role of late antique art in early Christian

worship: a reconsideration of the iconography of the
* starry sky' in the ' Mausoleum * of Galla Placidia1
by Ellen Swift and Anne Alwis
Introduction
In antiquity, the representation of the sky and/or heavens has a long h

mosaic and painted decoration.2 The earliest examples decorate villas,
and bath-buildings as well as religious buildings, as, for instance, the
of an early Imperial temple in Palmyra.3 In the second and third cen
ad, the representation of a starry sky, often combined with astrological
occurs quite frequently in a religious context, namely within Mithraea
paintings of the cult image, the cloak of Mithras is often painted blue,
decoration of gold stars.4 In the early Christian era, this theme was ad
the Christian context, and transferred to vaulted structures such as bap
or churches.5 The earliest known example in a Christian context is the b
at Dura Europos.6 Later examples, dating to the fifth century, are foun
1 We would like to thank the following: Robert Coates-Stephens for his inva
comments; Dennis Trout for his generosity in providing us with articles; Lucy Grig
with bibliography; Peter Stewart for allowing us to use one of his photographs;
Bosworth for assistance with the figures.
2 Karl Lehmann discussed various representations, for instance circular m
with astrological symbols, representations of canopies of the sky supported by
and depictions of stars on a blue ground. The earliest representation of stars
ground in a vault appears to be from bath-buildings of Republican Roman
K. Lehmann, The dome of heaven', Art Bulletin 27 (1945), 1-27, esp. p. 21.
3 Lehmann, 'Dome of heaven' (above, n. 2), 4-5.
^ M. Clauss, Mithras: Kult und Mysterien (Munich, 1990), 92-4.
5 Lehmann, 'Dome of heaven' (above, n. 2), 23, 26. See T. Mathews, 'Cr
Lehmanns dome of heaven', Source: Notes in the History of Art 1 (1982
T. Mathews, The Clash of the Gods: a Reinterpretation of Early Christian Art (P
1993), 143-50, for a critique of Lehmann, which pointed out that many of his s
unreliable - that they are not actually extant vault decoration but dubious
descriptions, or schemes in other locations, which Lehmann hypothesized also
vaults. Notwithstanding this, the broad derivation of the representation of stars
ground from pre-Christian prototypes remains unproblematic. The evidence from
(which Lehmann omitted) closes the chronological gap in the material that he dis
6 C. Kraeling, The Christian Building: Excavations at Dura Europos , Final
VIII, Part II (New Haven, 1967), 43-4, plates XXIII, XXIV.

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194 SWIFT AND ALWIS
Giovanni in Fonte (Na

'Mausoleum' of Galla Pl
church of the monastery
This paper explores the i
the perspective of the an
wider late antique cultur
comprehend how it may h
We shall begin with an ov
following which the 'Mau
Depictions of the starry sky in Christian buildings
A representation of the starry sky occurs in two locations within the house-chur
Europos (Fig. 1): on the flat ceiling of the baptistery and, in the same room, on t
of the arch over the font, where the stars are arranged in rows that follow the line
The stars are similar in each case, with larger eight-pointed stars, and smaller sta
from dots around a central dot, coloured white on a dark blue ground. A design o
of fallen painted plaster from the ceiling has been suggested to represent the moon
comparable example exists at the Dura Europos Mithraeum (Fig. 2), in which the bar
ceiling is covered with rows of very similar eight-pointed white stars on a dark b
and similar motifs are also found at the Dura Europos synagogue.9 The similarity of
other motifs has led scholars to conclude that the same workshop may have e
7 Qartmin (Tur Abdin, southeastern Turkey), in E. Hawkins and M. Mundell, 'The mosa
monastery of Mar Samuel, Ma'r Simeon and Mar Gabriel near Kartmin', Dumbarton Oaks Pape
279-96; Santa Maria della Croce, Casaranello (a district of Casarano, Puglia, Italy) and San
Fonte (baptistery to Santa Restituía, Naples), in M. von Berchem and E. Clouzot, Mosaïques Ch
Wme au Xme siècle (Geneva, 1924); for Casaranello specifically, M. Falla Castelfranchi, 'Can
fra Roma e Costantinopoli', in L. Bertoldi Lenoci (ed.), San Sabino. Uomo di dialogo e di pace t
occidente (Trieste, 2002), 81; so-called 'Mausoleum' of Galla Placidia, Ravenna, in F. Deichmann
Hauptstadt des Spätantiken Abendlandes I: Geschichte und Monumente (Wiesbaden, 1
F. Deichmann, Ravenna, Hauptstadt des Spätantiken Abendlandes II: Kommentar , Teil 1 (Wies
For further references to Santa Maria della Croce and San Giovanni in Fonte, see also O. von Si
Fortress: Byzantine Art and Statecraft in Ravenna (Princeton, 1987); A. Grabar, 'L'iconographie
l'art Chrétienné dans l'antiquité et du haut Moyen Age', Cahiers Archéologiques 30 (19
G. Mackie, Early Christian Chapels in the West (Toronto, 2003). The example found in th
Sant'Andrea in the bishop's palace at Ravenna is a later reconstruction based on the 'Mauso
Placidia, as Gillian Mackie has noted (p. 111). Another possible sixth-century example cit
(pp. 39-40) is Santa Maria Mater Domini in Vicenza, whose vault decoration of stars may
version of an earlier mosaic.
8 Kraeling, The Christian Building (above, n. 6), 43-4, plates XXIII, XXIV.
9 A. Perkins, The Art of Dura Europos (Oxford, 1973), 5 1 and plate 15; Kraeling, The Christi
(above, n. 6), 44.

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Role of late antique art in early Christian worship 195
Fig. 1 . Baptistery at Dura Europos, interior view showing the starry sky de
barrel vault and ceiling. Yale University Art Gallery, Dura-Europos Collection.
Art Gallery .)
mural paintings at each site.10 A Graeco-Roman archetype of the representation of the heavens is
clearly the inspiration for the theme, which is adapted very easily to each religious context; the
astrological aspect of Mithraism, for instance, and the interest of both Mithraism and Christianity
in eschatology and the heavenly realm.11 Carl Kraeling interpreted the motifs in the context of
the overall iconographie programme in the Dura Europos baptistery, which, he noted, is closely
paralleled by the decorative scheme in another baptistery building, San Giovanni in Fonte in
Naples (Fig. 3).12 The implication is that the vault of heaven represented by the starry sky is to be
understood in both cases as a representation of the cosmic order and the way in which the
10 M. Jensen, 'The Dura Europos synagogue, early Christian art, and religious life in Dura Europos',
in S. Fine (ed.), Jews , Christians and Polytheists in the Ancient Synagogue: Cultural Interaction during the
Greco-Roman Period (London/New York, 1999), 174-89, esp. p. 184.
1 1 D. Ulansey, The Origins of the Mithraic Mysteries: Cosmology and Salvation in the Ancient World
(Oxford, 1991).
12 Kraeling, The Christian Building (above, n. 6), 222-4. See also von Berchem and Clouzot, Mosaïques
Chrétiennes (above, n. 7), 105-9, fig. 119.

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196 SWIFT AND ALWIS
Fig. 2. Mithraeum at Du
with starry sky decoratio
Collection. (© Yale Unive
person to be baptized wi
schemes are quite simila
rho-cross at the apex of
unequivocally Christian im
Christian context invaria
Kraeling, The Christian B

14 See Grabar, 'L'iconogra

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Fig. 3. San Giovanni in Fonte, Naples, view of the dome mosaic. (© Peter
Another example of a pattern of stars within what may have been a bapti
at Santa Maria della Croce, Casaranello (Casarano) (probably fifth-cen
central domed vault mosaic of the starry sky is contained within a strip
the central turquoise-blue roundel, there are thirteen gold stars surround
mediate zone of pale blue and an outer zone of darker blue are covered with
gold and white stars, bringing the total to 67. Grabar suggested that differen
image might demarcate the heavenly region within the wider sky.15 The
accompanied by others, such as jewelled bands and scrolling vines. The la
by varied fruit motifs, including grapes and what appear to be figs, pom
fruits. The barrel vault decoration survives only in a single cross-arm (F
pattern is bordered by two panels of inhabited guilloche design, contain
animals and plants. The barrel vaults and border to the central dome
bounty of creation (with rather a specific mediterranean flavour - underst
of production by a local artist) and have many parallels in surviving church
late fifth and early sixth centuries.16 The representation of the cross and
realm, in the context of the new life made possible through baptism, as s
^ Grabar, 'L'iconographie du ciel' (above, n. 7), 15.

16 H. Maguire, Earth and Ocean : the Terrestrial World in Early Byzantine Art
28-36.

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198 SWIFT AND ALWIS
Fig. 4. Santa Maria della
seems unambiguous. How

longer survives, the emb
programme; doubt has b
The 'Mausoleum' of Galla Placidia
This building, which lies adjacent to the church of San Vitale in Ravenna, h
elaborated scheme of mosaic decoration, which has been the focus of many
Of initial interest is the function of the building. Constructed in the early fi
connected originally to a larger church, the basilica of Santa Croce,18 and t
in later myth as the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, it is widely accepted t
buried here.19 Comparable chapels in late antique churches were used variou
17 G. Spinosa, 'S. Maria della Croce di Casaranello: analisi delle strutture arch
Medievale 2 (2002), 149-64.
18 Deichmann, Ravenna I (above, n. 7), 158.
19 See S. Oost, 'Some problems in the history of Galla Placidia', Classical Philolog
esp. p. 7.

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worship, as a burial place, or as repositories for holy relics.20 It is likely

'Mausoleum' had similar functions, perhaps simultaneously, though later
possible evidence of burials.21 The depiction of a saint in the interior, in
the door of the building, suggests in particular that the chapel is likely to
relics and thus to have been used for the worship of martyrs (Fig. 5
understanding, the martyrs became intermediaries between the still-living
André Grabar documented the process by which intercession, while origi
site of the sainťs tomb,23 eventually lost its close spatial association with
Therefore, it could be performed in a memorial chapel or church of this
the festival day of the saint in question.24 What seems clear is that the bu
have been used for baptism, since two other purpose-built baptisteries ex
this time, the Arian and Orthodox baptisteries.25
While it is possible to interpret the starry sky mosaics of the 'Mausoleum
cosmological terms, similarly to the interpretations proposed for the bap
discussed above, the particular context of the building as a chapel associa
the saints prompts a reconsideration of how the starry sky mosaic in the
the use of the building for prayer to the saints. As Henry Maguire docu
study of early Christian texts, motifs in early Christian iconography can c
simultaneously according to both their context and their particular viewer
and it is thus important to consider the function of the building in any in
now consider the overall iconographie programme and previous readings of
The iconography of the 'Mausoleum'
In contrast to its relatively plain exterior, the interior of the 'Mausoleum' is lavished wit
decoration. The ground-plan is cross-shaped, with four barrel-vaulted recesses around the si
20 R. Ousterhout, 'The holy space: architecture and the liturgy', in L. Safran (ed.), Heaven on Earth: A
and the Church in Byzantium (Pennsylvania, 1998), 81-120, esp. p. 105; Mackie, Early Christian Chapels (abov
n. 7), 35.
21 J. Lowden, Early Christian and Byzantine Art (London, 1997), 111. Deichmann, Ravenna II (above,
n. 7), 65, considered that the question of a dedication to a saint remained open.
22 von Simson, Sacred Fortress (above, n. 7), 46-5 1, explored this in relation to Sant'Apollinare in Classe.
See also R Brown, The Cult of the Saints (Chicago, 1981), 38, for a wider discussion.
25 A. Grabar, Martyrium , recherches sur le culte des reliques et Vart Chrétien antique II. Iconographie
(Paris, 1946), 194.
24 C. Nordstrom, Ravènnastudien: Ideengeschichtliche und Ikonographische Untersuchungen über die
Mosaiken von Ravenna (Uppsala, 1953), 22. The transference of a cult away from its original location was
discussed further in Brown, Cult of the Saints (above, n. 22), 78-9.
25 See Deichmann, Ravenna I and II (above, n. 7) for a description of the iconography of these buildings;
for a more recent study, see A Wharton, Refiguring the Post-classical City: Dura Europost Jerash , Jerusalem and
Ravenna (Cambridge, 1995).
26 Maguire, Earth and Ocean (above, n. 16), 8-15.

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Fig. 6. Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna, mosaic showing Christ the

( Wikimedia copyright free image.)
connecting to a central vault above the crossing. The lower surfaces of the
thin marble veneers, and the upper surfaces with mosaic decoration. On
lunette on the wall opposite the entrance, a figure holding a cross and an
towards an object engulfed in flames, beyond which is an open book-cup
four gospels, helpfully labelled (Fig. 5). On the opposite side, above the d
shepherd, holding a cross-shaped crook, tends to his sheep (Fig. 6). The b
two lunettes are decorated with a pattern of flowery stars on a blue grou
below. The lunettes on the other axis contain scenes of deer drinking at f
of golden vines on a blue ground and silhouettes of golden figures in the
Above each lunette are figures with raised eyes and hands, looking upwards
decorated with a central cross in a gold starry sky set against a blue gro
evangelist symbols in the corners.
Previous commentators have suggested interpretations for each element o
and for the overall iconographie programme.27 The evangelist symbols and
27 Nordström, Ravennastudien (above, n. 24); Deichmann, Ravenna I and II (abov

Christian Chapels (above, n. 7).

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202 SWIFT AND ALWIS
Fig. 7. Mausoleum of Ga
at a pool. (From C. Ricci
good shepherd are unequ

the volute bases in the b
above the lunettes usua
paralleled in other early
from Psalm 42, and on
for God.29 Vine scrolls
instance, connoting the
the Eucharist.30
The identity of the fig

object engulfed in flam
Christ, who sometimes
identification as a saint
28 Mackie, Early Christia

29 Mackie, Early Christia
50 Maguire, Earth and O
3! See W. Seston, 'Le ju
Archéologiques 1 (1945), 3
Placidia à Ravenne', Cahier

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in gold glass of known identity, the saint was identified as Saint Lawrence,
prominence of Saint Lawrence in extant liturgy emphasized his role as an
More recently, it has been suggested that the saint is not Lawrence, but Vin
of Vincent is a story of the attempted withholding of holy books from th
which neatly explains the presence in the mosaic of a book-cupboard and
of the saint, which, were the saint to be identified as Lawrence, remain in
the exact identity of the saint is less important for this article than the f
death is depicted in this panel, which itself is located in a privileged
door of the 'Mausoleum'. As noted above, the implication is that the
prayer to the saint(s). Both Christ and Saint Lawrence /Vincent could be
of intercession, particularly the saint - the figure confronting the view
building.35
As in the other examples discussed above, the central vault mosaic (Plate 2) represents the
heavenly realm, as many commentators have noted.36 The colours in each case are predominantly
celestial, blue and gold, and the location is suggestive. More specific interpretations of the dome
mosaic within the 'Mausoleum' have been suggested, each of which focuses on the central
cross image, rather than the starry sky in which the cross hangs. To Grabar, the cross motif recalled
a vision of ad 351, of the cross in the sky over Jerusalem.37 He thus suggested that the image
inevitably would have been linked to the cult of the true cross discovered by Helena, and would
have been understood as an image of triumph over death and as a symbol of the passion of
Christ and the martyrs.38 Constantine's vision or dream of the cross in ad 312 and the subsequent
ritual of the exaltation of the cross also have been suggested by Otto von Simson to be significant in
the interpretation of the image. Certainly at Sant'Apollinare in Classe, the representation of a cross
at the centre of a starry sky is combined with what is widely accepted to be a representation of the
transfiguration of Christ (Fig. 8). He made a good argument from the extant texts in support of this
reading, drawing effectively on the wider context of ecclesiastical politics.39 Von Simson also noted
52 Grabar, Martyrium (above, n. 23), 35-6; Nordstrom Ravennastudien (above, n. 24), 16.
55 Nordström, Ravennastudien (above, n. 24), 19-21.
54 G. Mackie, 'New light on the so-called St. Lawrence Panel at the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia in
Ravenna', Gesta 29 (1990), 54-60; Mackie, Early Christian Chapels (above, n. 7), 185-91.
*5 Nordström, Ravennastudien (above, n. 24), 15; Lowden, Early Christian and Byzantine Art (above,
n. 21), 108-9. The fact that he appears to be moving out of the frame towards the viewer lends additional
support to this premise, in line with Alfred Gell's theory on the agency of the image (A. Gell, Art and Agency
(Oxford, 1998)).
56 Grabar, Martyrium (above, n. 23), 111; von Simson Sacred Fortress (above, n. 7), 42; Deichmann,
Ravenna I (above, n. 7), 168-9; Deichmann, Ravenna II (above, n. 7), 84-6; Mackie, Early Christian Chapels
(above, n. 7),' 81.
57 Cyril of Jerusalem in a letter to Constantine in Philostorgius, Church History (trans. P. Amidon)
(Atlanta, 2007), ch. 25.
38 Grabar, Martyrium (above, n. 23), 110-11, 191, 276-7.
59 von Simson, Sacred Fortress (above, n. 7), 42-58; Grabar, 'L'iconographie du ciel' (above, n. 7) is more
sceptical. See also Deichmann, Ravenna II (above, n. 7), 84-6.

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204 SWIFT AND ALWIS
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202.116.81.156 on Mon, 18 Apr 2022 12:43:16 UTC
the prominence of the symbol of the cross at the 'Mausoleum', with cross-shape
Christ and the saint, the cross at the apex of the vault, and the cross-shape
chapel, suggesting that the vision of Constantine may have inspired this ico
The two barrel vaults on the principal axis of the building (Plate 3) also r
tions of the starry sky, though it also has been suggested that the patterns ar
designs and that such designs would have been the principal reference-poin
viewer.41 Yet the two suggestions are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Domi
luxury materials were used to construct a vocabulary of power in the Ra
pattern imitating silk and also resembling the stars in the heavens could
plenitude of heaven through the imitation of this luxury textile. The placem
in the two vaults, and the blue ground of the design in each case, equally
intention of the decoration was to recall the celestial realm.
A multiplicity of readings is possible in the case of the individual theme

the 'Mausoleum'; yet it seems clear that the overall iconographie prog
with related themes of intercession, redemption and the judgement
Nordstrom concluded that the iconographie programme was most suited
prayer, in which the intercession of the saints would be sought - a m
and Grabar observed that the cross image as a symbol of triumph would
funerary chapel, and especially suited to a martyrium containing relics of t
As a whole, therefore, the building's iconographie programme of interior
its interpretation as a prayer chapel, or martyrium. Yet, consideration of
focused on the cross at its centre rather than the overall motif, and thu
how the starry sky that surrounds the cross may have functioned also in
the saints. It is our proposal that the starry sky motif in the dome may ha
the kind of connection made with the saints in prayer described so vivid
commentators. The remainder of this paper explores how this relation
created, drawing upon scholarly considerations of the function of image
that can be observed through a close viewing of the surviving vault mosaic
building, and contemporary Christian texts that illuminate the significance
late antique martyrs and saints.
40 von Simson, Sacred Fortress (above, n. 7), 42-3.

41 E. Kitzinger, Byzantine Art in the Making (London, 1977), 54; Deichmann, Ra
88; A. Gonosová, 'The formation and sources of early Byzantine floral semis and fl
examined', Dumbarton Oaks Papers 41 (1987), 221-11, esp. pp. 230, 236-7.
42 D. Janes, God and Gold in Late Antiquity (Cambridge, 1998), 128-9. J
representations of objects and cities to enhance their status as holy and powerful.
45 Nordström, Ravennastudien (above, n. 24), 27-31.
44 Nordström, Ravennastudien (above, n. 24), 15; Lowden, Early Christian and B
n. 21), 108.
45 Grabar, Martyrium (above, n. 23), 111. See also von Simson, Sacred Fortress (above, n. 7), 46-50, who
quoted Paulinus of Nola, letter 32: 'where there is the cross there is also the martyr, because the cross is also the
martyrs cross' ( Letters of St. Paulinus of Nola, 2 vols (trans. R Walsh) (Westminster, 1966-7), II.

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206 SWIFT AND ALWIS
The function of images
Alfred Gells theory of art and agency,46 which focuses on the relationship between
and its makers, owners and viewers, suggests that art can be viewed as instrumen
construction of particular kinds of relationships between social agents not only t
understanding of its subject-matter, but through the effect of the art-work upon
which can be regarded as its agency over the viewer.47 In this interpretation, art
more active role, itself contributing to the construction of social relations, rathe
passively reflecting social reality.
When applying this kind of reading to a church building, we can see that the d
not observed passively by the viewer, but, rather, becomes part of religious
decorative programme of the building is situated in the context of the activ
building for prayer and worship, and in particular with respect to the emotional an
tial effects of the art programme on the viewer. Among a very wide range of so
Gell discussed evidence from the Graeco-Roman world regarding belief in th
images,49 and, indeed, his emphasis on the active power of representations is par
scholarship of a much earlier date. Ernst Kitzinger, for instance, in his seminal w
cult of images in antiquity, discussed the wide variety of beliefs and practices surro
images, which emphasized their agency in relation to the viewer; the way in whi
actively assisted the viewer as 'some sort of channel enabling him to approach th
noted above, in relation to Ravenna in particular, von Simson was alive to the pos
active worship of this kind implied by the apse mosaic of Sant'Apollinare in Class
to the sixth-century viewer, 'the transfigured martyr was mysteriously present
presence' of such images in the context of worship was discussed also by William
Jas Eisner considered contextual literature to build up a picture of so-called 'mys
in late antiquity, in which the sacred was created through the visionary nature o
46 Gell, Art and Agency (above, n. 35).

47 Gell, Art and Agency (above, n. 35), 6-7.
48 Exemplified, for instance, in the late antique context by a quotation from Paulinus of Nol
farther within the larger church a room has been built into the outer wall, almost as a kind of o
star-spangled dome makes it beautiful . . . The source of devotion at its centre lends it brill
remarkable way it both transforms the whole and is itself transformed' (Poem 28 in The Poems o
of Nola (trans. P. Walsh) (New York, 1975)).
49 Gell, Art and Agency (above, n. 35), 97-9, 104-6. See also E. Swift, Style and Functio
Decoration : Living with Objects and Interiors (Farnham, 2009), 20-1, for further discussion
relating to this.
50 E. Kitzinger, 'The cult of images in the age before iconoclasmi Dumbarton Oaks Pap
83-150, esp. p. 137.
51 von Simson, Sacred Fortress (above, n. 7), 58; see also Brown, Cult of the Saints (above, n
52 W. Loerke "Real presence' in early Christian art', in T. Verdón (ed.), M onasticism an
(Syracuse, 1984), 29-51.

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Fig. 9. Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna, detail of the mosaic showing a pro

(Wikimedia copyright free image.)
experience,53 taking place within an enclosed and ritualized sacred

building itself.54 Eisner discussed, for instance, the mosaic programm
Nuovo in Ravenna, suggesting that the viewer proceeding down the n
wall mosaics would thus join the procession of saints depicted on th
conflation of real and represented that would bring them into the presen
Let us examine from this perspective how the late antique viewer actuall
to the experience of viewing the interior decoration of the 'Mausole
Suggestion, following von Simson, Eisner and others, that they may have
good shepherd, the saint, and the apostles and prophets to have actua
more accessible, during worship. The vault mosaics of the starry sky an
visual effects created in these mosaics, also may have been seen in a partic
in which they, equally, became in the mind of the viewer actual stars, a
with the light of heaven.
H J. Eisner, 'Image and ritual: reflections on the religious appreciation of

Quarterly 46 (1996), 515-31: J. Eisner, Art and the Roman Viewer (Cambridge, 1995
Eisner, Art and the Roman Viewer (above, n. 53), 210, discussed this in relation
space for worship, the Mithraeum.
55 Eisner, Art and the Roman Viewer (above, n. 53), 210-14, 222-39.

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208 SWIFT AND ALWIS
Visual effects
There are numerous examples of visual effects in Roman mosaics and wall-paint
Ellen Swift has discussed elsewhere, can be shown to have been deliberate effec
to the ancient viewer.56 These are most familiar from the early Roman contex
and Ostia, yet perspective-illusion patterns linger on into late antiquity, whose
characterized by its most famous scholar, Alois Riegl, as a style driven by opti
Perspective effects usually are discussed in the Roman context in relation to illusio
tive representations, and, indeed, Kitzinger saw the decorative patterns of the
essentially two-dimensional, patterns borrowed from textiles and floor mosaics t
the plane surfaces of the vaults, in contrast to the illusionistic space of wall m
the representation of the Good Shepherd.58 Yet, as any consideration of Chine
art will show, there is nothing inherently two-dimensional about a pattern, an
figurative designs in fact exhibit quite striking effects of depth. One only has t
decorative borders in the 'Mausoleum', which create the illusion of three dimen
their oblique lines and shading.59
Several striking visual effects can be observed in the mosaic of the starry sky (Pla
the 'starry sky' mosaics do not, in fact, have the effect of articulating the vault
surface. On the central vault (Plate 2) the stars are not shown naturalistically,
random, but appear to radiate, moving forwards in concentric circles and radiatin
centre as they follow the circular space of the vault. As previous scholars have n
shrink in size towards the apex of the vault, thus creating the illusion that the c
than is really the case.60 Those around the central gold cross form a distinct c
and the cross appears to be placed in front of this, so that it gives the impression th
spatially closest to the viewer. The stars that form the background to the circle
effect of strong radiation; an optical illusion is created whereby the eye can see
as either petal-like motifs extending from the central circle, or as rows that fol
of the central motif in ever-widening circles. The alternation between these two
of viewing enhances the sense of radiating movement with which the image is e
The patterns on the underside of the barrel vaults above the representations of
saint with his gridiron also show the starry sky (Plate 3). The design consists of a
of two different kinds of circular flower-like stars, set against a blue (celestia
interspersed with smaller white stars/flowers. The effect is more difficult to see in
56 Swift, Style and Function (above, n. 49), 10-23.

P A. Riegl, Late Roman Art Industry (trans. R. Winkes) (Rome, 1901; republished 198
58 Kitzinger, Byzantine Art in the Making (above, n. 41), 54-5.
59 See R. Arnheim, Art and Visual Perception: a Psychology of the Creative Eye (Berkeley
1 and 8 on the creation of these kinds of optical effects.
60 Nordstrom, Ravennastudien (above, n. 24), 26; C. Ricci, Il mosaico di Galla Placi
(Rome, 1914), 70.

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but, when viewed in the 'Mausoleum' itself, it appears rather like the im
scope, in that it moves and pulses, the motifs appearing to come out of a
blue ground, rather like snowflakes falling thickly. The effect is created b
the two different principal motifs. When these are examined in more detail it
guish the features that create the particular visual effect. Those motifs that a
the viewer consist of a central cross superimposed on a series of concentric
Dark lines pointing in from the edges of the circle, overlapping the conce
direct the viewer towards the centre. The motifs that appear to be projected f
plane, radiating towards the viewer, comprise a central, white flower, ag
concentric bands of colour, but with the inclusion of light, gold and wh
is further extended with a repeating vine-trefoil in gold alternating wit
blue petals. The larger size of the motif, the light colours, particularly i
thin stems of the gold trefoil radiating beyond the concentric bands of
the viewer's gaze away from the centre combine to create the visual effec
Secondly, the light-giving property of the stars is imitated closely through
ties of gold tesserae.61 Mackie drew attention to the quality of light create
through the use of alabaster panels and the way in which artificial light
tesserae 're-creates the shimmering light of the vault of heaven', brought
through an artificially raised floor.62
In each case, the visual effect, combining light-reflective gold tesserae
movement created by the positioning of the stars, has the effect of not ju
stars, but mimicking their defining property, the radiation of light. Wh
visual effect have upon the late antique viewer? From what we know con
images at this time, and following Eisner's notion of 'mystic viewing', th
the stars, and their reflected light, would become real.
The image would be used primarily for worship, rather than being viewed
sense. As noted above, the ceiling is relatively low, thus bringing the viewe
with the image; yet the viewer must look upwards to view it, simultaneousl
heaven and placing themselves in a supplicatory, subordinate position to
position in which to pray and meditate. The stars are concentrated in th
above the intercessory figures of Christ and Saint Lawrence/Vincent. This
evident in Sant'Apollinare in Classe, in which the vault mosaics of the star
lie directly above the orant figure of Saint Apollinare himself (Fig. 8), an
Nordstrom pointed out, the intercessory nature of the space is clear from
subject-matter of the iconography.63 How would the viewer have understo
from the stars in relation to the saints?
61 Janes, God and Gold (above, n. 42), 112; Mackie, Early Christian Chapels (ab
62 Mackie, Early Christian Chapels (above, n. 7), 180, 240-1.
65 Nordstrom, Ravennastudien (above, n. 24), 22.

202.116.81.156 on Mon, 18 Apr 2022 12:43:16 UTC
210 SWIFT AND ALWIS
The literary evidence: Damasus, Paulinus of Nola and

Chrysologus
It is useful to consider contemporary evidence here that may help to explain the sign
the late antique viewer of the 'manifestation' of a starry sky within a martyrium.
In late antique Italy, key figures of the church utilized the cosmos as the natural and
milieu for saints and martyrs. Their rationale varied. For instance, it was important f
the enterprising bishop of Rome (366-84), to fashion celestial immortality for his mar
as part of his wider agenda for the emerging Christians of new Rome.64 To this end, h
a series of epigrams in which his new icons were granted a luminous pathway heaven
Dennis Trout has explained, Damasus's innovations are comparable to Augustus's
the summi viri, as well as the elevation of the Aeneas myth, in the emperor s foru
Augustus, through an entire remoulding of civic identity, forged a cultural progra
reminded his Romans of glorious deeds that they could possibly emulate and
towards,65 so Damasus glorified his saints as champions with a radiant afterlife 'with
consequences for the manner in which many Christians would subsequently conceiv
own afterlives'.66 The bishop hailed Saints Peter and Paul as 'new stars' who followe
'through the stars'.67 Epigram 16, which refers to those buried in the catacomb of S
describes how 'the revered tombs hold the holy bodies; the palace of heaven has sei
exalted souls'.68
Damasus was not the only influential figure to associate celestial imagery
saints. Paulinus of Nola (c. 354-431) appropriated Saint Felix as his 'star'. His opinion
saints (and numerous other matters) can be found in his letters and poems, for ins
letter 23:
64 D. Trout, 'Damasus and the invention of early Christian Rome', Journal of Medieval and Early
Modem Studies 33 (3) (2003), 517-36.
65 See P. Zanker, The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus (Ann Arbor, 1988); J. Ganzert and
V. Kockel, 'Augustus Forum und Mars-Ultor-Tempel', in Kaiser Augustus und die Verlorene Republik (Berlin,
1988), 149-200; V. Kockel, 'Forum Augustorum', in E.M. Steinby (ed.), Lexicon Topographicum Urbis Romae
II (D-G) (Rome, 1995), 285-95; K. Galinsky, Augustan Culture (Princeton, 1996), 197-213; M. Spannagel,
Exemplaria Principisi Untersuchungen zu Entstehung und Ausstatung des Augustusforums (Heidelberg, 1999);
J. Geiger, The First Hall of Fame: a Study of the Statues in the Forum Augustum (Leiden, 2008).
66 D. Trout, 'Saints, identity and the city', in V. Burrus (ed.), A People's History of Christianity II. Late
Ancient Christianity (Minneapolis, 2005), 165-87, cited at p. 174.
67 ' nova sidera, Damasus, Epigram 26: M. Ihm, Damasi Epigrammata (Leipzig, 1895). Trout translated
the epigram as follows: 'Whoever you are who seeks equally after the names of Peter and Paul, you should
know that the holy men once dwelt here. The East sent its apostles, a fact we freely acknowledge. By virtue of
their martyrdom and having pursued Christ through the stars (per astra ), they reached the heavenly asylum
and the kingdoms of the pious. Rome has earned the right to claim them as her own citizens. These things
Damasus wishes to relate in your praise, O new stars ( nova sidera)'; Trout, 'Saints, identity and the city' (above,
n. 66), 174.
68 Trout, 'Saints, identity and the city' (above, n. 66), 174; Trout's translation. See also epigrams 3.1 1-14;
7.3, 5; 10.12; 23.1-2; 47.3.

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The dew, as we know, is water brought not by rain but by the cold, by which the g
is refreshed when parched by the days heart. Only on a fine night is the e
sprinkled by the translucent drops of this dew. So are we to understand that t
drops of the night in which Wisdom so gladly steeped His head and hair repres
the saints whom Paul describes as shining amongst the stars, which on fine ni
shine as the dew falls.69
In many of his poems dedicated to Felix, the stars and the martyr are seen as a
the very least, as holy companions. One example is poem 1 5, where Felix personal
with the celestial firmament: 'Felix <the martyr> said to her: Take this trust for
trust which my associates, the stars of the night, and an angels hands under C
entrust to you through my mediation".70 In poem 19, Paulinus equates Felix to a
separate occasions: 'But Nola has housed his <Felixs> buried body, and so
though he were her own star - for every martyr, wherever the region to whi
committed, is both a star for that district and a source of healing for its resid
'shone in the darkness of Nola like a star proceeding from the mouth of God,
lips the healing worď.72 The metaphor of the astral saint continues further on,
of the devil: 'He chose Felix to shine before him in this region, so that He coul
darkness with this star, and rout the ancient demons from Nola also'.73
The identification of the stars with a saint was not limited to text. We find,
the image of Saint Agnes portrayed in an astral environment in a gold-glass m
the catacomb of San Panfilo in Rome (Fig. 10).74
Both Damasus and Paulinus enjoyed a wide reception, as both Trout and
Conybeare have shown. The extent of Damasus's influence can be seen in the ep
Roman aristocracy.75 Meanwhile, Paulinus s letters and poems were circulated
though, in the case of the letters, single addressees are often specified.76
It is clear that stars were conflated with saints/martyrs to varying degrees in late
Ravenna itself, the sermons of Bishop Peter Chrysologus (c. 406-50), who became
city around 426, provide additional evidence.77 For Chrysologus, too, martyrs als
69 Letter 23 ( Letters of St. Paulinus (above, n. 45), 37). The reference to Paul is Philip
70 Poem 1 5 ( Poems of St. Paulinus (above, n. 48), 94). Delivered January 398.
71 Poem 19 (Poems of St. Paulinus (above, n. 48), 131). January 405.
72 Poem 19 (Poems of St. Paulinus (above, n. 48), 138).
73 Poem 19 (Poems of St. Paulinus (above, n. 48), 139).
74 J. Eisner, Imperial Rome and Christian Triumph (Oxford, 1998), fig. 159.
75 D. Trout, The verse epitaph(s) of Petronius Probus: competitive commemoration i
century Rome', New England Classical Journal 28 (3) (2001), 157-76, esp. pp. 169-70, 172-4
76 C. Conybeare, Paulinus Noster: Self and Symbols in the Letters of Paulinus of Nola
11-16, 20, and esp. 41-52.
77 Most of our information for him comes from Agnelluss ninth-century Lifey from wh
leader also received his epithet of 'the golden orator. Agnellus lists Chrysologus as Peter I and
Liber Pontificalis 47).

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212 SWIFT AND ALWIS
Fig. 10. Gold

Saint Agnes,
of San Panf
Pontificia Co
Archeologia
Institute Rom
perfection. In a sermon ce
light: 'Consequently, the ma
through their end, and a
extinguished on earth shin
throughout the whole wor
The sermons of Chrysolo
power would be evoked thro
converts the actual to the
congregation. This is clearl
78 Chrysologus, Sermon 1
pp. 214-15); Sermon 133 (vol.
(Washington DC, 1983). All vo
published editions given in this
79 With reference to Saint
dissociate stars from astrology

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The sermons of Peter Chrysologus
Chrysologus s sermons are homiletic in nature, focusing on a brief and lucid exegesis o
biblical citations. We know that his congregation comprised mainly laymen. As William
has illustrated, Chrysologus refers to farmers, sailors and soldiers, among others, and the
bear.80 Interestingly, there are many examples within his sermons of Chrysologus ada
work in order to create immediacy with his audience. He wishes to engage with
does so by keeping his message and sentences short and clear. He elucidates bibli
simply and relates their message to his congregation s quotidian lives or everyday em
Thus, when he is explaining about the prodigal son, for example, he has this to say a
boy s lack of filial duty: The son is as impatient as the father was kind. He is weary
father being alive. Since he cannot shorten his father s life, he strives to get possessio
property'.81 He then attempts to make the congregation understand the psychologic
of the son s behaviour: 'But let us make some inquiries. What reason brought the son
attempts? What bold prospect raised his spirits to make so startling a request? What re
He also has a tendency to address his audience directly in the midst of his sermons: 'W
account of the ruler of the synagogue . . . was enticing us away from the customary brevi
sermons, we preferred to cut our discourse in half lest it seem to start anew to such an ex
overburden your patience to listen'.83 And he is also capable of stunning clarity, a type
ness that gets straight to the point: 'Brothers, it is always a pleasure to speak about the resu
it is a perpetual delight to hear about the resurrection, since it is always unpleasant to
always a delight to live'.84
To comprehend fully the spiritual, however, Chrysologus recognizes that he has to
his 'historical' analysis with 'higher meaning', and to this end he commonly utilizes m
'This is our fifth sermon on the departure and return of the Prodigal Son. In it we shall t
have promised, to raise its historical sense to a mystical and extraordinary sense which
80 Chrysologus, Sermon 1 18.2 (vol. 3, pp. 150-1). Also Sermon 10.1 (vol. 2, p. 52) and Sermon 14
2, p. 66): St. Peter Chrysologus (trans. W. Palardy), vols 2 and 3 (Washington DC, 2005).
Chrysologus, Sermon 1 (vol. 1, p. 25).
82 Chrysologus, Sermon 1 (vol. 1, p. 26).
83 Chrysologus, Sermon 36 (vol. 1, p. 75). Other examples: 'Brethren, at this point I would a
willing to explain the mystery in this passage, but greater profit can be gained from doing this later
restrains me. I observe that as you listen you are not experiencing fitting compassion, nor deem
matters our concern; rather, you are passing over them quickly with fleeting attention . . . We shall
the deeper matters later, because we have greater obligation to our congregation and our customs
(vol. 1, pp. 33-4)). The translator noted that 'our customs' refers to the habit of 'preaching only shor
(n. 10, p. 34); 'we should speak to the populace in popular fashion. The parish ought to be add
ordinary speech. Matters necessary to all men should be spoken about as men in general speak . . .
today let the learned grant pardon for commonplace language' (Sermon 43 (vol. 1, p. 90)); Sermon
p. 127); Sermon 122 (vol. 1, p. 209).
84 Chrysologus, Sermon 118.2 (vol. 3, p. 150).

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214 SWIFT AND ALWIS
iť.85 He ends the serm

not expound matters so
our sermon form an am
knowledge gives you'.86
In a couple of later serm
whatever ideas that are
open up to faith, let t
ahead . . /,87 noting too
by human eyes lies veile
Thus, Chrysologus expe
'power of their <own
Chrysologus is attemptin
. . . Sarah, a barren old wo
offers three hearth cak

devotion, so that the worl
yeast of faith in three m

Spirit, and serve its Lord
the yeast of faith from G
hid it in three measures,

to Noah, from Noah to M
had corrupted the whole

restore the whole mass of
To an audience used to
stars as saints/martyrs
a great deal of time exh
always be raised to a higher
teaching is contained . . .' (
no distinction would remain
But, as things are, when the
deserves it, the one who labo
to parables in general).
8? Chrysologus, Sermon
88 Chiysologus, Sermon 1
89 Luke 1 3.20-1 : To what
hid in three measures of flo
90 Chrysologus, Sermon
91 Chrysologus, Sermori
pp. 25-6 for 'interpreting t
with the latter contributing

202.116.81.156 on Mon, 18 Apr 2022 12:43:16 UTC
indicate that it was not unusual for a congregation to understand the visu
the metaphorical.
Light and the cosmos
When focusing on the dome mosaic in the 'Mausoleum', scholarship has tended to em
wider cosmological and eschatological implications.92 A Christian building as a micr
the world is an interpretation widely suggested for Christian buildings in general in
and supported by descriptions of church interiors in contemporary sources.93 For Ch
too, the stars are the embodiment of Gods wonderful creation. For him, the c
symbol of divine order and such musings permeate his words:
And so the evangelist says: 'as soon as morning had broken' that is, 'after the night of
the Lord s passion had passeď, 'Jesus stood on the shore', so that he might call the
universe back within its old boundaries, make strong what was wavering, rein in
what had exceeded its bounds, compose what had been disturbed, and by his
standing there stabilize the very foundations of the world, which had been so
shaken, so that the world returned at once to the service of its Creator, the same
world that had dispersed at the indignity done to its Creator.94
Humanity has a designated niche within this world order:
For you [his congregation] the streams of light dispel the encircling gloom. For you
the night has softened. For you the day has been measured off. For you the sky ha
been made to drop down the varied brilliance of the sun, the moon, and the stars.
For you the earth has been beautified like a picture, with flowers, groves and fruits
92 Mackie, Early Christian Chapels (above, n. 7), 181-4, 191-3, focusing on the cross in the
the overall decorative layout of the building: Thus the mausoleum of Galla Placidia can best be un
funerary chapel, decorated as a microcosm of heaven, and expressing in symbolic terms the Christia
after death in the realms beyond the stars' (p. 192).
95 Lehmann, 'Dome of heaven' (above, n. 2); B. Smith, The Dome of Heaven (Princeton, 195
K. McVey, The domed church as microcosm: literary roots of an architectural symbol', Dumbarton
37 (1983), 91-121.
94 Sermon 78.3 (vol. 3, p. 32). See also sermon 81 (vol. 3, p. 39): [Rebellious Judea strives to va
creator] ... 'it has removed peace from the earth, it has dissolved the harmony of the universe,
ruptured what joined the elements together, that it was drawing the whole world back to its ancie
so it puts day to flight with night, it attacks light with darkness, It removes heaven from the univ
the earth quake, it mingles the dead with the living, it jumbles together those who dwell in the low
upper world, and with the whole order among creatures disrupted it leaves absolutely nothing that
or harmonious. That is why when Christ returned from the underworld, so that he might restore
universe, he exclaims: 'peace be with you".

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216 SWIFT AND ALWIS
For you has been created

many beautiful beings in
joy of the new world. T
Lord of earthly creatures
In addition, and more sp

by Chrysologus to emph
for a conduct of behavio
Under the eyes of these

eyes are just so many l
aglow in the countenan
cannot draw nigh to one
This understanding is e
not give us understandin
from these buildings'.97
The dichotomy of dark v
of God, is a commonp
'Mausoluern , this topos
inexorably towards the
personalized.
Chrysologus, Sermon 148

96 Chrysologus, Sermon 1 (
if the heavenly Father had not
by the light streaming from
87 (vol. 3, p. 68) and Sermon
teachings, he, too, will surely
his virtues so that he does no
He who mitigates this darkne
his merits, he will surely b
diminutions of his light, but
heavenly light ... I say noth
spangled with stars. You ar
Matthew 5.14, 16).
97 Paulinus of Nola, Poem
149 (vol. 1, p. 252): 'Today, Ch
banished dissensions, and diss
Church with the splendour

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Conclusion
When we consider, as the literary evidence suggests, that the viewer may have
starry sky of the 'Mausoleum' of Galla Placidia as an embodiment of the saints
manifestation of light from their graves, the visual effects of the mosaics would hav
mental in conflating the real and represented through the 'mystic viewing' doc
Eisner, actually transforming the ceiling into the 'real' starry sky and the radiat
the mosaic into the manifest radiance and power of the saints. One of the ways i
saintly light could appear in the 'Mausoleum' of Galla Placidia is likely to have b
the vault mosaic of the starry sky made real through 'mystic viewing' of its visual
The decoration of the 'Mausoleum' of Galla Placidia, then, can be viewed as an
in constructing the viewer's relationship with God. It is not a static, passive des
decorative in effect. The visual effects of the mosaic actually embody the saint
links earth with heaven. Through an optical illusion of radiating movement com
and contributing to, the heightened visionary senses of 'mystic viewing', the star
and reach out to the recipient, who is overawed by the light of heaven made man
the image itself. The represented stars do not just show where the heavens lie; to
viewer, they are a point of intersection between earth and heaven quite as real as
sky itself, and, in prayer, the visual illusions of radiating movement and light might
a concrete manifestation of saintly power.

202.116.81.156 on Mon, 18 Apr 2022 12:43:16 UTC
352
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354
Swift and Alwis - Plate 3. 'Mausoleum' of Galla Placidia, Ravenna, detail of the starry sky
mosaic in the barrel vault. (Wikimedia copyright free image.)

202.116.81.156 on Mon, 18 Apr 2022 12:43:16 UTC

The Role of Late Antique Art in Early Christian Worship A Reconsideration of The Iconography of The 'Starry Sky' in The 'Mausoleum' of Galla Placidia

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