Between self-knowledge and self-enjoyment : ΓΝѠθΙ CAYTON in the skeleton mosaic from beneath the Monastery of San Gregorio
(2024) In Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft 260. p.269-291- Abstract
In this essay, I offer the first sustained scholarly discussion of the Know Yourself Skeleton Mosaic (KYSM) within its broader cultural milieu and of its contribution to our understanding of self-knowledge in antiquity. In many ways, the mosaic represents an innovative visual "blend" of several cultural tropes and symbols known from the Greco-Roman world. For example, only here is the concept of self-knowledge rooted in both an explicit quotation of the Delphic maxim and the visual motif of a banqueting skeleton. The KYSM, taken as a whole, uses its funerary environment and spectral imagery to "point" (via the figure's embellished finger) the viewer toward self-knowledge about their humanity and mortality. But because the mosaic also... (More)
In this essay, I offer the first sustained scholarly discussion of the Know Yourself Skeleton Mosaic (KYSM) within its broader cultural milieu and of its contribution to our understanding of self-knowledge in antiquity. In many ways, the mosaic represents an innovative visual "blend" of several cultural tropes and symbols known from the Greco-Roman world. For example, only here is the concept of self-knowledge rooted in both an explicit quotation of the Delphic maxim and the visual motif of a banqueting skeleton. The KYSM, taken as a whole, uses its funerary environment and spectral imagery to "point" (via the figure's embellished finger) the viewer toward self-knowledge about their humanity and mortality. But because the mosaic also taps into the larger cultural apparatus of the symposium via the posture of its central figure, the mosaic's use of γnωθι σAutoacn is couched within the concept of self-enjoyment, which distinguishes the KYSM from other ancient sources that somehow engage with the maxim. Thus, selfknowledge and self-enjoyment are intricately, and uniquely, linked in the KYSM, with perhaps the best interpretation being that the mosaic's message is that the former should ideally find expression in the latter.
(Less)
- author
- Cirafesi, Wally V. LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2024
- type
- Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Popular Epicureanism, Skeleton in Greco-Roman art, Skeleton mosaic, γnωθι σAutoacn
- host publication
- Know Yourself : Echoes and Interpretations of the Delphic Maxim in Ancient Judaism, Christianity, and Philosophy - Echoes and Interpretations of the Delphic Maxim in Ancient Judaism, Christianity, and Philosophy
- series title
- Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft
- editor
- Filtvedt, Ole Jakob and Schröter, Jens
- volume
- 260
- pages
- 23 pages
- publisher
- De Gruyter
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85182536523
- ISSN
- 0171-6441
- ISBN
- 9783111083544
- 9783111083858
- DOI
- 10.1515/9783111083858-009
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 3470339b-5c1c-4acc-b61f-bee6d85dc898
- date added to LUP
- 2024-01-29 14:33:16
- date last changed
- 2024-04-15 05:19:03
@inbook{3470339b-5c1c-4acc-b61f-bee6d85dc898,
abstract = {{<p>In this essay, I offer the first sustained scholarly discussion of the Know Yourself Skeleton Mosaic (KYSM) within its broader cultural milieu and of its contribution to our understanding of self-knowledge in antiquity. In many ways, the mosaic represents an innovative visual "blend" of several cultural tropes and symbols known from the Greco-Roman world. For example, only here is the concept of self-knowledge rooted in both an explicit quotation of the Delphic maxim and the visual motif of a banqueting skeleton. The KYSM, taken as a whole, uses its funerary environment and spectral imagery to "point" (via the figure's embellished finger) the viewer toward self-knowledge about their humanity and mortality. But because the mosaic also taps into the larger cultural apparatus of the symposium via the posture of its central figure, the mosaic's use of γnωθι σAutoacn is couched within the concept of self-enjoyment, which distinguishes the KYSM from other ancient sources that somehow engage with the maxim. Thus, selfknowledge and self-enjoyment are intricately, and uniquely, linked in the KYSM, with perhaps the best interpretation being that the mosaic's message is that the former should ideally find expression in the latter.</p>}},
author = {{Cirafesi, Wally V.}},
booktitle = {{Know Yourself : Echoes and Interpretations of the Delphic Maxim in Ancient Judaism, Christianity, and Philosophy}},
editor = {{Filtvedt, Ole Jakob and Schröter, Jens}},
isbn = {{9783111083544}},
issn = {{0171-6441}},
keywords = {{Popular Epicureanism; Skeleton in Greco-Roman art; Skeleton mosaic; γnωθι σAutoacn}},
language = {{eng}},
pages = {{269--291}},
publisher = {{De Gruyter}},
series = {{Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft}},
title = {{Between self-knowledge and self-enjoyment : ΓΝѠθΙ CAYTON in the skeleton mosaic from beneath the Monastery of San Gregorio}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/9783111083858-009}},
doi = {{10.1515/9783111083858-009}},
volume = {{260}},
year = {{2024}},
}