In this Roman mosaic, the Greek phrase for 'know thyself' is written beneath the skeleton figure.
The mosaic once decorated the floor of a tomb on the Via Appia in Rome. It was discovered in 1865 near Santa Maria Nova, in the vicinity of the Villa dei Quintili. Dating back to the 2nd century AD, the artwork is currently on display in the Terme di Diocleziano section of the Museo Nazionale Romano.
The inscription at the bottom, ΓΝΩΘΙ ϹΑΥΤΟΝ, is the Greek phrase γνῶθι σαυτόν, or gnōthi sauton. It translates to 'know thyself.' This saying was one of the ancient maxims associated with the Temple of Apollo at Delphi.
In a Roman context, this phrase didn't just mean knowing your character. It also carried another meaning: know your limits, know that you're human, and know that you're mortal.
That's why the reclining posture of the skeleton is significant. Resting against a cushion, the figure evokes the tradition of reclining that we recognize from Roman banquet scenes. However, this mosaic doesn't come from a dining room, but from a tomb setting on the Via Appia.
The concept of death wasn't foreign to Roman banquet and dining culture, either. Two silver goblets adorned with skeletons from the Boscoreale treasure serve as a similar reminder: conveying to the drinker that life's short and death is inevitable...
There's no lengthy text on this mosaic. The message is direct: to know thyself is also to know that you're mortal.
