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Theodorias (Qasr Libya)

Unless otherwise indicated, pictures on this page © Marco Prins and Jona Lendering. Photos can be downloaded and used for non-commercial purposes, but you have to acknowledge Livius.

Cast of a bust of Theodora. The original is in Milano (Italy); this cast is in the Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum in Mainz (Germany). Photo Marco Prins.

The ancient city of Olbia, which suffered heavily when the Vandals occupied parts of northern Africa in the second half of the fifth and first quarter of the sixth century, was refounded in 539 by the Byzantine emperor Justinian, and renamed after his wife Theodora, who had spent her youth in nearby Apollonia: Theodorias. (This photo shows a bust of the empress, now in Milan; it is not the original but a cast in the Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum in Mainz.) The new city has been partly excavated, and two churches have been identified, which have become famous for the splendid mosaics. Compared to the official imperial art with its gold and lapis lazuli, they are a bit coarse, but they are lively and very colorful. On this page, you will find photos of the floor mosaic of the Eastern Church.

This is what the Eastern Church looks like today. The entire floor was covered by fifty small mosaics (the square holes in the floor), with a total size of 10½ x 6 m. They represent the founding of the city. The fifty mosaics were removed from the floor and transferred to the museum opposite the West Church. There was a second mosaic in the room to the left, which will be discussed below.


Deer	Adornment	The new city Theodorias	Founding	Deer

Nilotic scene	Gihon [1]	Renewal	Pishon [1]	Nilotic scene

Stag	Lion	Eagle	Lion	Stag

Bear	Euphrates[1]	Castalia [2]	Tigris[1]	Crocodile

Bull	Zebra	Inscription [3]	Zebra	Bull

Fish	Horseman	Church	Horse	Nilotic scene

Ostrich	Castle	Peacock	Birds	Ostrich

Fish	Satyr	Musician	Leopard	Merman

Fish	Bull	Birds	Ram	Amphibious monster

Fish	Amphibious monster	The pharos of Alexandria	Ship	Fish

[1]
The Gihon, Pishon, Euphrates, and Tigris are the four rivers in the Garden of Eden.

[2]
The Castalian Spring was the source at Delphi; it represents wisdom. Together with the Nilotic scenes and the rivers of Eden, Europe, Asia, and Africa are represented. And Castalia, coupled with the Biblical rivers, shows that the designer regarded both Greece and Israel as his sources of inspiration.

[3]
The translation of this inscription says that this was made by bishop Macarius, in the third year of the indiction, i.e. 539.

There was a second mosaic in the room to the left, which will be discussed below.

>> to part two >>

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