Plato's Academy mosaic
| Plato's Academy mosaic | |
|---|---|
 Plato's Academy mosaic (from Pompeii) | |
| Year | 100 BC to 79 AD |
| Dimensions | 86 cm × 85 cm (34 in × 33 in) |
| Location | National Archaeological Museum of Naples, Naples |
Plato's Academy mosaic is a work of visual art created in the villa of T. Siminius Stephanus in Pompeii, around 100 BC to 79 AD.[1][2] Of mosaic construction, it has roughly square dimensions, and is about the size of a large dinner plate.
It depicts seven prominent human figures associated with Plato's Academy, in classical attire of toga and sandals, gathered under a tree, against a backdrop of allusive elements, including stone columns suggestive of the grand civic architecture of the age, and glimpses of distant shores or havens, perhaps metaphysical in nature.
Overview
The mosaic has been interpreted to depict as the central figure Plato pointing with a stick at the globe. Mattusch (2008) suggests for the other figures, the Greek philosophers and scholars: Thales, Anaxagoras, Pythagoras, Xenophanes, Democritus, Eudoxus, Euctemon, Callippus, Meton, Philippus, Hipparchus, and Aratus. However, Mattusch also points out that the number of figures could relate to the Seven Sages of Greece, and points out that the sages often had fluid identities.[3] David Sedley identifies the figures as Timaeus, Eudoxus, Plato, Xenocrates, Archytas, Speusippus and Aristotle.[4]
Eleven statues were found in Memphis, Egypt. A review of "Les Statues Ptolémaïques du Sarapieion de Memphis" noted they were probably sculpted in the 3rd century with limestone and stucco, some standing with others sitting. Rowe and Rees (1956) noted that the theme was similar to Plato's Academy mosaic, and perhaps also used on 19th century sighted statues with roles, at Serapeum of Alexandria. Statues at Memphis were attributed to: "(1) Pindare, (2) Démétrios de Phalère, (3) x (?), (4) Orphée (?) aux oiseaux, (5) Hésiode, (6) Homère, (7) x (?), (8) Protagoras, (9) Thalès, (10) Héraclite, (11) Platon, (12) Aristote (?)."[5][6]
See also
References
- ^ Fikret K. Yegüül (2010). "Review: Pompeii and the Roman Villa: Art and Culture around the Bay of Naples". Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians. 69: 136–139. doi:10.1525/jsah.2010.69.1.136.
- ^ Katherine Joplin (2011). "Plato's Circle in the Mosaic of Pompeii". Electrum Magazine.
- ^ Elizabeth Mackey and Rachel Bernstein (2009). Pompeii and the Roman Villa: Art and Culture around the Bay of Naples. Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Museum Associates/Los Angeles County Museum of Art. ISBN 9780500514368.
- ^ Sedley D., (2021) An Iconography of Xenocrates’ Platonism, in Authority and Authoritative texts in the Platonist Tradition, ed. Erler M., et al., Cambridge UP, p.38
- ^ Alan Rowe; B. R. Rees (1956). "A Contribution To The Archaeology of The Western Desert: IV - The Great Serapeum Of Alexandria" (PDF). Manchester.
- ^ "Reviewed Work: Les Statues Ptolémaïques du Sarapieion de Memphis". Archaeological Institute of America. 1957. doi:10.2307/500375. JSTOR 500375.
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