Greek Athletes in Roman Baths: An Archival Rediscovery of Ostian Mosaics (20 min)

Presenters

Joanne M. Spurza, Hunter College of the City University of New York

Abstract

Augmenting recently excavated pavements, a chance archival find has led to a trove of 19th-century drawings that provide more new evidence for the mosaics of the “Palazzo Imperiale” at Ostia.

The so-called Palazzo—a deluxe double-courtyard insula with a large bath complex—was first excavated from 1857–1864 by Pietro Ercole Visconti and Carlo Ludovico Visconti under Pius IX. From its 100-plus rooms, an outstanding assemblage of over two dozen mosaic pavements was recorded and published (Becatti, Scavi di Ostia IV, 1961). A few polychrome mosaics were removed and preserved; but numerous black-and-white pavements were left in place—reflecting the priorities of the era—their documentation lacunose, many presumably now lost.

These pavements were of great interest, though, to a French visitor to the site. Louis Boitte (1830–1906) won the Prix de Rome for architecture in 1859, precisely when the Visconti excavations were underway. Among his drawings in the Musée d'Orsay are sixteen from Ostia. Eleven show the Palazzo: informal sketches, measured drawings, and a finished plan of the excavated remains. In these images, we can recover some of the lost mosaics.

Both the Visconti and Becatti mention a now-lost athletes mosaic in the baths. Boitte’s drawings fully depict this pavement, with twelve figures, likely in the gymnasium: victor crowning himself, sparring pancratiasts, others reclining, umpire, trumpeter, and a table of prizes.

This elaborate agonistic ensemble closely resembles mosaics in two other Ostian baths: the Terme Marittime and Terme di Porta Marina. A popular motif for floor pavements of Roman baths in the second to third centuries C.E., it reflects the rising interest in Greek-style athletic festivals and professional competitions. The prominence of winning athletes here also resonates with another Palazzo pavement, its caldarium with a later third/fourth-century mosaic of Victorious Charioteers, uncovered in 1986–1987.