Through The Eyes of Hugh Sackett

Centaur Mosaic at the Church of the Holy Trinity See all items with this value

Mosaics came into fruition at the end of the 5th century BCE in Corinth. The practice spread quickly throughout the fourth century BCE as a way of decorating floors with a composition that could serve a didactic purpose as well as aesthetic. At its inception, artists used limited palettes of white, black, and red to orchestrate their compositions. Before the use of square stones called tesserae, artists struggled to ascribe their figures with a sense of verisimilitude or three-dimensionality. See all items with this value

Church of the Holy Trinity at Adamas in Melos See all items with this value

Mosaic

The mosaic is composed of a square with concentric circles. It is likely an apotropaic composition meant to protect the Church from evil. The mosaic features two centaurs in a heraldic position, facing one another in flying gallop formation. A sun above the right and a moon above the left centaur imply that they are positioned within a sort of celestial map. The centaurs have been interpreted to be in a fight for morality. The white centaur represents good, while the black centaur represents evil. The white centaur appears to be stabbing the black centaur in the chest, but we see both figures bleeding into the cup between them. This detail suggests that the unknown artist responsible for the work is elucidating that good and bad are the unavoidable products of humankind, but that it is possible for good to win out over the other.

September 1974

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