Piazza Armerina Sacrifice Scene

[Nathan Ross]

The horses hoof movements show that they are ready and impatient to be off.

That's a good way of explaining it. It's interesting, looking at other bits of the mosaic, to try and work out why some figures have 'movement shadows' and others don't... there's clearly a visual language here, but not one that we're familiar with (is anybody? I don't recall seeing them in other Roman artworks...)

Why do the 'shadows' curl up at the ends, I wonder? Here's one, from wikipedia, amusingly titled 'boy skiing': it does look a bit like that!

[attachment=10343]PArm2.jpg[/attachment]

Here is another scene... where the men and the large birds are being shipped in for sport

I'd never noticed how funny that scene looks - the man does seem to be manhandling the poor ostrich in a rather intimate fashion...

The man to the right of the altar is making the formal gesture of adoratio.

Yes, I initially thought it might be the 'blowing a kiss' thing. I've wondered before whether this gesture was common to all 'salutes' (even including military ones), besides those to divinities and quasi-divine emperors!

It's similar to the one shown on the famous anti-Christian graffito: 'Alexamenos worships (or 'salutes') his god':



So: eating sacrificial offerings - or saluting? Is there any way to tell? mile: