The Small Basilica

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The sumptuous floor mosaics covering the floors of the churches in the Eastern and the Western Roman Empire in the 4-6th centuries, are made of all sorts of materials: marble, pebbles, ceramics, glass. For covering of large spaces, geometrical combinations of rhombuses, circles and rosettes are preferred, as they can repeat endlessly and form immense number of patterns
In Philippopolis, there is a local mosaic atelier, which decorates the floors of the big public buildings and the homes of wealthy citizens.
For the early Christians, these mosaics have their meanings and transcend messages. The stag, for example, is not in the baptistery of the Small Basilica by accident. The stag represents the soul of the Christian, aiming at the faith and the truth. The dove symbolizes the Holy Spirit, who appears at the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan river. The vase represents the vessel where heavenly myrrh is collected. The Solomon's Knot is an old symbol with many meanings, and can be interpreted as a depiction of eternity, and of faith. The rosetta predates Christianity. For the Christians, it symbolizes the blood of Jesus. The swastika is an ancient cosmic symbol, and the meander is interpreted as a simplified labyrinth.

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