THE ICONOGRAPHY OF SHEEP IN THE VISUAL CULTURE OF THE PAGAN PARADISE: AN EXAMPLE OF LATE ANTIQUITY IN ANTIOCH

Abstract

The presence of certain animals in the iconographic programs of Late Antiquity is closely linked to different conditions. In our particular case, we propose to analyze a mosaic of the Allard Pierson Museum in Amsterdam: a fat-tailed sheep (c. AD 475) from an early Christian Church near Antioch. Greek culture was strongly rooted in Antioch, and Roman visual culture had a strong influence on the artistic currents that reached the oriental city. These geographical and cultural factors, in addition to the iconographic program of Paradise, form a context of analysis that will allow us to identify how the presence of the sheep has evolved in the visual culture of Antiquity.