Personifications of abstract ideas and elite identity in the late antique Eastern Mediterranean

Personifications are a frequent motif in the visual culture of the late antique Eastern Mediterranean, especially in urban centres such as Antioch. Following a case study approach and focusing on personifications of abstract ideas this thesis presents an in-depth analysis of some popular figures such as Ktisis (‘Foundation’), Ananeosis (‘Renewal’), Charis (‘Grace’), Tryphe (‘Luxury’), Apolausis (‘Enjoyment’) or Megalopsychia (‘Greatness of soul’), depicted not only in floor mosaics but also in book illumination and jewellery. Many personifications are not only late antique innovations without earlier precedents, but they often appear in combination with others and can only be identified through an accompanying Greek name label since they lack iconographical consistency and can share attributes. The iconographical and spatial analysis of each figure supplemented by a detailed discussion of the respective concepts in literature and epigraphy helps understand their meanings and functions and emphasizes the connections between these concepts in the late antique imagination. While the personifications refer specifically to elite self-representation and expressions of elite identity, they do not allude to general notions of paideia (‘education’), as discussed in previous scholarship, but each personification communicates a distinct element of this identity in a concise, efficient and customisable manner. While the name labels provide the overarching reference to the personified concepts, the iconographic variation and spatial context of each depiction add further nuance. However, due to the multivalent nature of these complex ideas many depictions remain purposefully ambivalent and can allude to the whole spectrum of nuances of each concept leaving their interpretation to the viewer. The personifications found on the floors and jewellery of the late antique elites illuminate first-hand the characteristics they wished to advertise in a single or a few chosen personifications. Thus, they reflect the attitudes of late antique elites, their desire to present themselves as megalopsychoi and ktistai and thus as members of an exclusive privileged minority and to unapologetically celebrate their luxurious way of life.