Party animals : the imagery of status, power and masculinity in Greek mosaics

A study of the meanings of figure-subjects (humans, animals and mythical monsters) in the pebble mosaics of the late-Classical and early-Hellenistic periods in Greece and the Aegean. In addition to their Dionysiac aspects and their debt to the art of the Near East (associated with wealth and luxury), they can be read as expressions of status, power and masculinity; there was special emphasis upon ferocious beasts, hunting, and scenes of male violence. Later, with the advent of tesserae mosaics, the medium spread beyond the Aegean and was adopted by non-Greek patrons, who favoured less aggressive subjects, including those associated with sport, leisure and learning.