Τοιχογραφίες ρωμαϊκών χρόνων στην Ελλάδα: από την εποχή του Αυγούστου έως την εποχή του Μ. Κωνσταντίνου

Abstract

The thesis "Roman wall paintings in Greece. From the time of Augustus until the era of Constantine the Great"presents for the first time in an overall scale the wall paintings of Roman imperial era that have come to light in the areas of modern Greek territory.The thesis focuses on the nature and function of the material in question, as well as on the construction technique and its iconography. Specifically, the present study examines for the first time the relationship of iconography with the decorated interiors, the frequency of wall paintings within a building as well as the relations of wall decorations with the types of buildings. Moreover it focuses on a number of other issues, such as whether and to what extent the material in question had any meaning for the ancient owners who ordered it, to what extent the agenda of projects was dictated by personal preferences, economic or social status, the current dominant artistic trends of the time, the existence of a single common art for mural decorations throughout the empire, as well as the detection and further developments of certain Italian styles in the provinces of Greece. Also it tries to decipher to what extent we are able today with the limited resources, sources and data that we have to understand this material. This study includes six chapters each of which determines the material in question in a different light. The first chapter is an introduction to Roman wall paintings in general, while the second examines the technique of wall decoration during the imperial period. The third chapter presents briefly the history of wall paintings in the Greek area until the late Hellenistic era. In this chapter, having as a starting point the early Greek times, an effort has been made to determine the nature and function of the mural decoration in the Greek world before the advent of the Romans, as well as the dominant artistic trends of wall decoration until the late Hellenistic era. The fourth chapter examines in general the wall decorations during the imperial period in the area of modern Greece, having as a basis, locations that present more frequently mural decorations. The fifth chapter deals with the iconography of the Roman wall paintings in Greece. Despite the fragmentary state of preservation of the material in question it can be detected the common iconographic trends between the Greek and Italian wall decoration, although it can not be expressed any definite conclusion as far as the prevalence of the new artistic trends in mural decorations is concerned. The last chapter examines through statistics and comparative conclusions the nature and the function of the material in question, as well as in what kind of buildings (private / public) and spaces (character and function of the rooms) the mural decoration is appeared.