Telete and Eros: Meanings and Sources of the Mythological Scenes in the Mosaic from Sheikh Zouede
Sevilla-Sadeh, N. (2011), Telete and Eros: Meanings and Sources of the Mythological Scenes in the Mosaic from Sheikh Zouede, in Assaph, Studies in Art History, The Beauty of Japheth in the Tents of Shem, Studies in Honor of Mordechai Omer, Eds. Hana Taragan and Nissim Gal, Tel Aviv, Vol 13-14,159-172.
The apotheosis of Herakles, pelike from Vulci, red figure technique. Staatliche Antikensammlungen, Munich.
The figurative scenes depicted in the mosaic floor from Sheikh Zouede have been interpreted as an expression of the Classical notion of the consequences of immoderation. This study sets out to show that whereas the erotic madness of Phaedra is a negative state, the Dionysian inebriation of Herakles is positive. The hero, rather than an uncontrolled drunken madman, is in fact consecrated through the Dionysian mysteries to Dionysus. The supremacy of that god reflects the increasing tendency toward monotheism in Late Antiquity. This reading is supported by an examination of Classical literary sources as the concepts behind these depictions…