West Meets East: Roman Mosaics of Ionia

Abstract

Tradition and innovation were for centuries characteristic elements of the cultural development of Ionia, thatlandscape of western Anatolia, whose intellectual achievements became groundbreaking for the Europeancontinent and beyond. Whereas there are dominant the contacts with Egypt, Mesopotamia and Persia in Greektimes, with the taking over of the Pergamenian Kingdom by Rome and with the establishment of the proconsularprovince of Asia (129-126 v. Chr.) new trends were initiated from Italy which are reflected in workmanship andart. Taking charge of pavement-types in the facilities of public and private buildings is one of the phenomenathat document the cultural exchange between West and East. New results of archaeological and historical researchin recent decades in the urban centers of Ionia provide insight into the sociological related interlacingof Hellenistic and Italo-Roman shapes of technological and decorative design on floor coverings.In this paper will be discussed in the light of selected examples discovered in different ancient centers of westernAnatolia the way of Greek pebble- and tessellated-mosaic to the Italo-Roman floor spaces.

Özet

Gelenek ve yenilik, yüzyıllar boyunca İonia’da kültürel gelişimin karakteristik unsurları olmuştur. Anadolu’nun