In 1983 important remains of a large Hellenistic building complex were discovered on the slope of Speliani hill, rising above Pythagoreion, on the island of Samos. The systematic excavation that followed brought to light two areas with mosaic floors of exceptional art. The first floor, measuring 9.50×7.00m (drawing 1), is decorated with spirals, each terminating to a griffin figure, while the second, measuring 5.62x 5.18m (drawing 2), is embellished with a running spiral motif. Both mosaics have been executed in the same technique. The motif: the iconographic type of the Samos griffins is quite similar to the architectural decoration of the temple at Didyma, dated from the first quarter of the second century B.C., now in the Louvre. The date of the mosaics: the stratigraphic data are, so far, very inadequate, therefore only a relative date can be proposed. Thus, the iconographic motifs and the technical execution employed lead to works produced in Pergamon during the second century B.C., and especially to the mosaics of the palaces IV and V, which in all probability date from the second quarter of the second century B.C.
Historical and Technical Research on a Hellenistic Mosaic Floor on Samos Island
22 Aug 2012
by Archaeology Newsroom
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