Mosaic roundels with busts of twelve female martyrs, each identified by an inscription, set on the underside of the triumphal arch opening into the main apse of the basilica of Eufrasius at Poreč (ancient Parentium) on Istria. Datable to the mid-6th c.
E08565
Images and objects - Wall paintings and mosaics
Mosaics roundels on the intrados (inner face) of the arch opening into the main apse of the church:
Twelve roundels with busts of female martyrs, each identified by a mosaic inscription. The twelve women are shown in essentially the same way, though there is some variation in the collars of their tunics: with gold haloes against a blue background, with centrally-parted brown hair, with a veil fixed to the back of their hair and hanging down over the left shoulder, with a very simple necklace, and with a gold tunic with jewelled collar. All are shown facing us, with youthful unlined faces.
At the top of the arch is a Lamb of God. This is, however, a restoration and it is uncertain what was originally there (Terry and Maguire 2007,14).
On the left side of the arch (from the top):
S(AN)C(T)A AGATHE (*Agatha, virgin and martyr of Catania, S00794)
S(AN)C(T)A AGNES (*Agnes, virgin and martyr of Rome, S00097)
S(AN)C(T)A CICILIA (*Caecilia, virgin and martyr of Rome, S00146)
S(AN)C(T)A EVGENIA (*Eugenia, virgin and martyr of Rome, buried on the via Latina, S00401)
S(AN)C(T)A BASILISSA (*Basilla/Basilissa, virgin and martyr of Rome, buried on the via Salaria vetus, S00684)
S(AN)C(T)A FILICITAS (*Felicitas, martyr of Carthage, companion of Perpetua, S00009)
On the right side of the arch (from the top);
S(AN)C(T)A EUFYMIA (*Euphemia, martyr of Chalcedon, S00017)
S(AN)C(T)A TECLA (*Thekla/Tecla, follower of the Apostle Paul, S00092)
S(AN)C(T)A VALERIA (*Valeria, confessor/martyr of Milan, mother of Gervasius and Protasius, S02238)
S(AN)C(T)A PERPETVA (*Perpetua, martyr of Carthage, companion of Felicitas, S00009)
S(AN)C(T)A SVSANNA (*Susanna, virgin and martyr of Rome, E00892)
S(AN)C(T)A IVSTINA (*Iustina, virgin and martyr of Padua, S02321)
Text: from the photos in Terry and Maguire 2007.
Description and identification: Bryan Ward-Perkins.
Source
The 'basilica of Eufrasius' is the southern, and larger, church of the palaeochristian double-cathedral of Poreč. Detailed survey and excavation reveals that Eufrasius partially reused the walls of an earlier church on the same site, but his intervention was extensive and transformational: new columns, capitals and bases in imported Proconnesian marble; mosaic floors; stucco-work; sumptuous opus sectile panels in the main apse; and the mosaics that are the subject of this and several other database entries.The precise dates of Eufrasius' episcopate are unknown, and nothing is known about him before he became bishop of Poreč - the only reference to him in textual sources is to a bishop Eufrasius, who must surely be our bishop, condemned as a defender of the Three Chapters in a letter of Pope Pelagius I of 559. Stylistic analysis of the mosaics, stucco-work and opus sectile, and comparison with very similar datable work in Ravenna (just across the north Adriatic), supports a mid-sixth-century date for Eufrasius' episcopate and his church (Terry and Maguire 2007, 59-69).
The mosaics of the basilica were extensively restored in 1890-1900, which has occasionally led to debate over their authenticity. However, pre-1890 engravings and photos (see the Images at E08563), as well as detailed close-up investigation by Terry and Maguire, show that the figures and their iconography are substantially intact from late antique times. In the specific case of these mosaics on the intrados of the arch opening into the apse, there is no reason to doubt the identity of the saints represented, though the Lamb of God at the top of the arch is certainly a creation of the period of restoration (Terry and Maguire 2007, 14).
Discussion
These roundels were certainly not 'cultic', in the sense of inviting active veneration, but they are important for showing which female martyrs were considered most worthy of representation in mid-sixth-century Poreč. Furthermore, they appear to be arranged in hierarchical order, from the top of the arch down to the bottom: the top four on each side (with the interesting exception of Valeria) are all saints of considerable status, which is much less true of the lower two on each side; furthermore, Felicitas, the slave companion-martyr of Perpetua, is placed right at the bottom of one side, while Perpetua is higher up on the other side.The inclusion of Valeria as a major female martyr is unexpected, and reflects Ravennate influence. She is a very obscure saint, known only from the Martyrdom of Vitalis of Ravenna - see the Discussion in E06046.
The choice of martyrs here at Poreč does not, however, echo precisely the two assemblages of female martyrs in Ravenna: the six that appear in the slightly earlier Cappella Arcivescovile of Ravenna (of 494/520; E05950), and the twenty-two shown in the roughly contemporary S. Apollinare Nuovo (of 557/564; E06046). While there is, unsurprisingly, a complete overlap between the six martyrs shown in the Cappella Arcivescovile and the twenty-two in S. Apollinare, there is less overlap between Poreč and the two Ravennate groups. Nine of the saints shown at Poreč feature amongst the twenty-two shown in S. Apollinare Nuovo - Agatha, Agnes, Caecilia, Eugenia, Felicitas, Euphemia, Valeria, Perpetua and Iustina - but three do not - Basilla/Basillissa, Thekla and Susanna. While of the twelve saints at Poreč, five also feature in the Cappella Arcivescovile: Caecilia, Eugenia, Felicitas, Euphemia and Perpetua; but Daria, who features at Ravenna, is not shown at Poreč. Evidently Bishop Eufrasius and his advisors made their choice independently of direct influence from the mosaics of Ravenna.
We are very grateful to Maria Lidova for making available her detailed photographs of these roundels.
Bibliography
For Eufrasius:Pietri, C. and Pietri, L., Prosopographie chrétienne du Bas-Empire, 2 Prosopographie de l'Italie chrétienne (313-604), 2 vols. (Ècole française de Rome 1999), vol. 1, 671-2, 'Eufrasius'.
For the mosaics and their state of preservation:
Marucchi, O., "Le recenti scoperte nel duomo di Parenzo," Nuovo bullettino di archeologia cristiana, 2 (1896), pp. 14-26 and tav. I-II.
Terry, A. and H. Maguire, Dynamic Splendor. The Wall Mosaics in the Cathedral of Eufrasius at Poreč, 2 vols, (Pennsylvania State University Press) 2007.
Images
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The location of the roundels, on the underside of the arch opening into the apse. Photo: Maria Lidova
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The six roundels on the left of the arch (and detail). From the top: Agatha, Agnes, Caecilia, Eugenia, Basilissa and Felicitas. Terry and Maguire 2007, figs 70 & 71
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The six roundels on the right of the arch (and detail of Euphemia). From the top: Euphemia, Thekla/Tecla, Valeria, Perpetua, Susanna and Iustina. Terry and Maguire 2007, figs 84 & 85.
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Roundel with Agnes Photo: Maria Lidova
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Roundel with Caecilia (above Eugenia) Photo: Maria Lidova
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Roundel with Felicitas Photo: Maria Lidova
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Roundel with Thekla/Tecla Photo: Maria Lidova
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Roundel with Valeria Photo: Maria Lidova
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Roundel with Valeria (above Iustina) Photo: Maria Lidova
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Roundel with Iustina Photo: Maria Lidova
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Euphemia, Thekla/Tecla, Valeria and Perpetua Photo: Maria Lidova
Bryan Ward-Perkins
24/11/2024
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00009 | Perpetua, Felicitas and their companions, martyrs of Carthage | Filicitas | Certain | S00009 | Perpetua, Felicitas and their companions, martyrs of Carthage | Perpetua | Certain | S00017 | Euphemia, martyr of Chalcedon | Eufymia | Certain | S00092 | Thekla, follower of the Apostle Paul | Tecla | Certain | S00097 | Agnes, virgin and martyr of Rome | Agnes | Certain | S00146 | Caecilia, virgin and martyr of Rome | Cicilia | Certain | S00401 | Eugenia, virgin and martyr of Rome, buried on the via Latina, and companions | Eugenia | Certain | S00684 | Basilla/Basilissa, virgin and martyr of Rome, buried on the via Salaria vetus | Basilissa | Certain | S00794 | Agatha, virgin and martyr of Catania | Agathe | Certain | S00892 | Susanna, virgin and martyr of Rome | Susanna | Certain | S02238 | Valeria, confessor/martyr of Milan, wife of Vitalis and mother of Gervasius and Protasius | Valeria | Certain | S02321 | Iustina, virgin and martyr of Padua | Iustina | Certain |
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Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Bryan Ward-Perkins, Cult of Saints, E08565 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E08565