Τὰ χρυσᾶ μῆλα: frutti d’oro e altri simboli in un mosaico di Piazza Armerina

Abstract

The side rooms of the basilica have been identified as the private quarters of the owner of the villa. Thematically
connecting the decoration of the large reception and waiting rooms are depictions of children, symbolic representations
of the human soul that express the personal philosophy of the host and that would have been understood by
his like-minded guests, thereby establishing a dialogue made coherent through the common language of symbols. In the
mosaic with pueri hunting small animals, allusion to venationes is understood: reason wins over brute force. Golden fruits
and pomegranates are recognizable references to the afterlife: the pomegranate as the attribute of Kore/Proserpina,
and the citrus fruits as the golden fruits of the Hesperides, exotic fruit probably unknown through experience but whose
meaning was long established in literature and iconography. Through his highly personal choice of visual language, the
villa’s owner presents his vision of human life as transitory, yet eternally capable of self-renewal as in the cycle of nature,
a vision of the world in which death is simply a passing moment.

Keywords: Piazza Armerina, citrus fruit, golden fruits of the Hesperides, pomegranate, life and death.