Dioskourides of Samos - My Favourite Planet People

Dioskourides of Samos (Διοσκουρίδης Σάμιος; Latin, Dioscurides) is thought to have been mosaic artist working in the late 2nd to early 1st century BC.

Two small mosaic emblemata (panels) found in 1763 and 1764 [1] in the "Villa of Cicero", outside the Herculaneum Gate at the west of Pompeii, are signed:

ΔΙΟΣΚΟΥΡΙΔΗΣ ΣΑΜΙΟΣ ΕΠΟΙΗΣΕ

(Dioskourides Samios epoese)

Dioskourides of Samos created [this]

It is not known whether Dioskourides was the name of the maker of the mosaics or the artist who made the original works, perhaps Hellenistic paintings of the early third century BC, of which they may be copies. [2] Apart from these two works nothing else is known about him.

The first mosaic depicts what appears to be a group of street musicians wearing theatrical masks (see photos and details below). The second shows a group of three women, also wearing actor's masks, sitting around a table (see photos and details below). This image has been interpreted as women consulting a witch, sorceress, fortune teller, matchmaker or procuress, represented by the older woman on the right. It has even been suggested that the old woman is preparing a philter (magic love potion).

From the time of their discovery it was clear to scholars that both mosaics depicted scenes from plays, as other ancient representations of theatrical works in frescoes, mosaics and reliefs were being discovered at Pompeii, Herculaneum and elsewhere. Further scrutiny of the mosaics pointed to works of the Attic New Comedy of the fourth century BC, and particularly to Menander of Athens (Μένανδρος, circa 342-290 BC), the most famous playwright of the genre. Knowledge of his reputation rested mainly on mentions of his works and quotations by ancient authors, but nearly all of his plays had been lost, and it was not until the beginning of the 20th century that the first fragments of papyrus manuscripts were discovered.

In 1930 the German classical philologist Friedrich Marx (1859-1941) was the first to propose that the mosaic of the women at the table was a scene from a lost play of Menander on which the Roman playwright Titus Maccius Plautus (circa 254-184 BC) based his comedy Cistellaria (Casket Comedy). This was later confirmed and the work of Menander was subsequentally identified as Synaristosai (Συναριστῶσαι, Women at lunch or The women who lunch together). [3]

Mosaics of the late third century AD, found in 1961-1962 in the "House of Menander" at Mytilene (Lesbos), depict almost identical scenes, and the accompanying inscriptions identify them as being from comedies by Menander. According to the inscriptions, the scene of the musicians is from the play Theophoroumene (Θεοφορουμένη, The girl possessed by a deity), and that of the seated women from Synaristosai. [4] Only fragments of these two comedies have survived.

Such mosaic panels, known as emblemata (singular, emblema), where - and still are - prepared in the mosaic artists' studios, before being taken to be cemented to the customers' floors or walls. Small emblemata can be easily carried whole, whereas larger motifs must be divided into sections for transportation. Although it is thought that many mosaics were made by artists and their assistants travelling to the various locations, it is also possible that such mosaics could also be made for or sold to customers in other regions and countries.

Whether the maker of these mosaics lived or worked at Pompeii is unknown. If he was the creator of these images, rather than being just a copyist of famous works, then his reputation allowed him to sign the panels. In this case he may well have been living elsewhere and his works bought by wealthy clients abroad.