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Room 2: Early Christian City and Private Dwelling
To
begin with, the life and the general aspect of the
cities were little different from in the Roman
period. But as Christianity became more firmly
entrenched, the construction of churches and the
buildings around them created large complexes which
changed the layout and the appearance of the cities
and attracted various administrative and social, as
well as religious, activities.
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The
focal point of the exhibition is a triclinium,
the reception room of a wealthy house in
Thessaloniki
, with a mosaic floor and wall
paintings. Around it develop such themes
as town planning, water supply,
commerce, minting, defence, the
citizens' occupations, and also aspects
of everyday life at home, with
references to domestic equipment
(pottery and glassware) and activities
(weaving, cooking), clothing, personal
adornment and embellishment, and
domestic architecture.
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Mosaic floor and wall paintings from the triclinium of a house in Thessaloniki, 2nd half of the 5th c. |
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Colourful
mosaic floors with decorative or other
representations, such as personifications
of the months and the winds and the signs
of the Zodiac, and painted walls shaped
the environment of the Early Christian
urban dwelling.
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Terracotta amphoras, 3rd-6th cc. |
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Amphoras
were used by merchants for transporting
various products, such as oil, wine, and
grain, and also in the home as storage
vessels.
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Objects for personal adornment, 3rd-7th cc. |
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Women
continued to concern themselves with
personal adornment and embellishment,
despite the preachings and severe
criticism of the Church Fathers. The
Byzantines kept their rich, costly
jewellery in ornate ivory jewellery
boxes with rich relief decoration, while
facial cosmetics were kept in smaller
caskets.
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Chitons, 6th-7th cc., on loan from the Benaki Museum
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Chitons
were the most commonly worn garments in
the eastern
Mediterranean
in Late Antiquity and were made of linen
or wool. Until the Early Christian
period, clothes had no seams and were
worn with the aid of belts, fibulae, and
pins. Cutting and sewing were practices
that became more widespread in the
Mediterranean
after the seventh century.
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