Patrons and viewers in Late Antique Greece : From houses and villas to Early Christian churches

The paper discusses the iconography of mosaic floors in profane and religious buildings in Greece during Late Antiquity. Among the various decorative schemes used, geometric designs were particularly popular in the mosaic floors but the Roman villas also possessed a large number of mythological scenes, as well as portraits of famous historical persons and allegorical figures. The earliest Christian churches were usually decorated with mosaics of geometric designs but vegetal motifs, animals, human and allegorical figures as well as biblical scenes became widely distributed during the 5th century. Furthermore, the paper touches upon regional differences, donor inscriptions, and attitudes towards figurative motifs in Christian contexts.