The Stag Hunt mosaic ( BC) is a

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

from a wealthy home of the late 4th century BC, the so-called "House of the Abduction of Helen" (or "House of the Rape of Helen"), in

Pella Pella ( el, Πέλλα) is an ancient city located in Central Macedonia, Greece. It is best-known for serving as the capital city of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon, and was the birthplace of Alexander the Great. On site of the ancient cit ...

, the capital of the Macedonian Kingdom. It bears the

signature A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. The writer of a ...

of the Ancient Greek artist

Gnosis Gnosis is the common Greek noun for knowledge ( γνῶσις, ''gnōsis'', f.). The term was used among various Hellenistic religions and philosophies in the Greco-Roman world. It is best known for its implication within Gnosticism, where it ...

, of whom very little is known. It is now located in the

Archaeological Museum of Pella The Archaeological Museum of Pella ( el, Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο Πέλλας) is a museum in Pella in the Pella regional unit of Central Macedonia. The building was designed by architect Kostas Skroumpellos and is on the site o ...

Central Macedonia Central Macedonia ( el, Κεντρική Μακεδονία, Kentrikí Makedonía, ) is one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece, consisting of the central part of the geographical and historical region of Macedonia. With a populat ...

, Greece.

Composition

The emblema is bordered by an intricate floral pattern, which itself is bordered by stylized depictions of

waves Waves most often refers to: *Waves, oscillations accompanied by a transfer of energy that travel through space or mass. *Wind waves, surface waves that occur on the free surface of bodies of water. Waves may also refer to: Music *Waves (band) ...

.Kleiner, Fred S., and Helen Gardner. Gardner's Art through the Ages. the Western Perspective. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2010. pg. 135
/ref> The mosaic is a pebble mosaic with stones collected from beaches and riverbanks which were set into

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mi ...

. As was perhaps often the case, the mosaic does much to reflect styles of

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

.Kleiner and Gardner, pg. 136 The light figures against a darker background may allude to

red figure Red-figure vase painting is one of the most important styles of figural Greek vase painting. It developed in Athens around 520 BCE and remained in use until the late 3rd century BCE. It replaced the previously dominant style of black-figure va ...

painting. The mosaic also uses

shading Shading refers to the depiction of depth perception in 3D models (within the field of 3D computer graphics) or illustrations (in visual art) by varying the level of darkness. Shading tries to approximate local behavior of light on the ob ...

, known to the

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...

as ''skiagraphia'', in its depictions of the musculature and cloaks of the figures. This along with its use of overlapping figures to create depth renders the image

three dimensional Three-dimensional space (also: 3D space, 3-space or, rarely, tri-dimensional space) is a geometric setting in which three values (called ''parameters'') are required to determine the position of an element (i.e., point). This is the informa ...

. It is often wondered if Gnosis, whose signature ("Gnosis epoesen", i.e. Gnosis created) is the first known signature of a

mosaicist A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

, could have been the painter of an earlier picture which the mosaic reproduces, rather than the mosaic-setter. In the case of

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and ...

, 'epoesen' referred to a maker of the pot while 'egraphsen' was the

verb A verb () is a word ( part of speech) that in syntax generally conveys an action (''bring'', ''read'', ''walk'', ''run'', ''learn''), an occurrence (''happen'', ''become''), or a state of being (''be'', ''exist'', ''stand''). In the usual descr ...

used to designate the painter. Therefore, if an analogy to pottery is warranted, it seems likely for Gnosis to have been a mosaicist. Since ''gnosis'' (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: γνῶσις) is also the Greek word for

knowledge Knowledge can be defined as Descriptive knowledge, awareness of facts or as Procedural knowledge, practical skills, and may also refer to Knowledge by acquaintance, familiarity with objects or situations. Knowledge of facts, also called pro ...

, others have said the inscription does not refer to an author at all; but to an abstract noun.

The figures

The figure on the right is possibly

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...

due to the date of this mosaic along with the depicted upsweep of the hair.Chugg, Andrew. Alexander's Lovers. Raleigh, N.C.: Lulu, 2006. pg. 78
/ref> Pella is also the birthplace of Alexander. The figure to the left wields a double-headed axe, likely alluding to

Hephaistos Hephaestus (; eight spellings; grc-gre, Ἥφαιστος, Hḗphaistos) is the Greek god of blacksmiths, metalworking, carpenters, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metallurgy, fire (compare, however, with Hestia), and volcanoes.Walter Burk ...

; meaning the figure depicted could be the

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

Hephaestion. The dog depicted is possibly

Peritas Peritas ( el, Περίτας) was Alexander the Great's favorite dog, who accompanied him during his military exploits. The name Peritas seems to come from the Ancient Greek word for January. History The eponymous city Not much is known of the hi ...

accompanying Alexander. The stag and hound may allude to the myth wherein

Artemis In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified wit ...

transforms the huntsman Actaeon into a stag when he tries to rape her. Once he is turned into a stag his own hounds turn on him and he is torn apart. The theme of abduction may relate the mosaic not only to the Rape of Helen by Theseus, depicted in another mosaic in the same house, but also to Alexander's conquest of Persia. As Actaeon had hunted Artemis but was destroyed by his dogs, so the Persians had tried to subdue Hellas - an effort earlier Macedonian kings had participated in - resulting ultimately in the empire's destruction by Alexander.

Deer in Greek mythology

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...

, the stag is associated with

who was the virginal huntress. The myth goes when Actaeon saw Artemis naked, out of anger she turned him into a stag and he was torn to pieces by his own. In other accounts it is thought that Actaeon tried to rape Artemis. In this image we see the same concept of a stag being torn apart by a dog just as in the myth as well as by Alexander the Great on the right. It is speculated who is on the left. The theme here is the "hunter being hunted". It is a quite fitting mosaic for The House of The Abduction Of Helen, who was raped. The stag also represents the Persians that Alexander would later conquer. He had stated his motives for battling the Persians as to get vengeance for them sacking Athens and destroying temples there such as the

Parthenon The Parthenon (; grc, Παρθενών, , ; ell, Παρθενώνας, , ) is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the goddess Athena during the fifth century BC. Its decorative sculptures are considere ...

.Ros, Karen. “The Late Classical Period of Ancient Greece.” Lecture, Ancient Greek Art and Archaeology UIC, Chicago, Nov 2017. This would again represent the idea of the hunter being hunted.

References

{{reflist Ancient Greek mosaics Deer in art Ancient Pella Dogs in art Cultural depictions of Alexander the Great