The Victory and Donor Panels in the Floor Mosaics at Aquileia's Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta
Late 4th century
The winged Victory figure holds the conventional symbols of victory, a laurel crown and a palm branch. At his feet are a basket of bread and a chalice of wine, the elements of the Eucharist. (View this image in full resolution.)
In the great mosaic covering the floor of the basilica at Aquileia a number of panels picture Christians bringing gifts to a winged figure based on the classical image of Victory. In classical iconography, Victory gives a laurel crown and palm branch to the winners of athletic contests. The mosaic applies this iconography to those Christians who have "run the race" and "received the prize" (I Corinthians 9:24) — not only the martyrs but all who like them "are dead to sin, but alive in God" (Romans 6:11).
Beyond leaves and wreaths, the baptized enjoy the greater reward of Christ's own body and blood in the Eucharist, which is symbolized by the bread and wine at the feet of this figure and which is the heart of the liturgy celebrated in the basilica.
From earliest times a key part of the eucharistic liturgy has been a procession to the altar with gifts (Senn, 76 et seqq.). Originally, these would include not just bread and wine but various edibles to be shared. The images surrounding the Victory panel portray these processional gifts and integrate them into the meaning of the Eucharist itself. The grapes and other fruit refer to the wine the priest will consecrate, the loaves and fishes to the time that Jesus fed the five thousand, a miracle that presages the Eucharist (John 6:22-59).
The Gifts
A young man brings a basket of bread. (The basket and the loaves are identical to those in the Victory panel. The male donors in these panels wear long-sleeved tunics. The vertical stripes on the male and female garments were originally symbols of status in the Roman world.)
A young woman brings grapes, symbolic of the wine that is offered in the eucharistic liturgy. The female donors in these panels wear the tunica, a long, sleeveless garment with an overfold at the waist.
This fisherman bringing his catch also balances a small basket of loaves on his rod. Thus he represents the boy who brought the loaves and fishes with which Jesus fed the multitude in John 6:9-11, a presage of the Eucharist.
This young woman brings a bird, symbolic of the soul in both classical and Christian iconography. Her gesture of releasing the bird may also refer to Noah's releasing the dove, a symbol of peace between God and Man.
This young woman brings a red flower and a vase of fruits and other offerings. The shape of the flower and the indications of a calix suggest that it is a rose, one very similar to those in
a nearby panel in the mosaic. According to Sill (52) the red rose is a symbol of martyrdom. The Glossa Ordinaria (III, 2170b) interprets one of the Bible's few references to roses as "the fruit of martyrdom." Impelluso (118) suggests that the use of a red rose to symbolize martyrs arose from the classical associations of this flower with funeral rites. If so, it would make sense to see the roses in the floor mosaic as an early example of this iconography.
