Art And Architecture 367
room in this wing is the triconch triclinium (room S) in the north-east corner,
entered through a square vestibule. Its floor was covered with figural mosaics,
with the central panel depicting the mythological hero Bellerophon slaying
the Chimera.
Literary sources suggest that the palace complex extend northward to the
church of San Giovanni Evangelista, with an excubitorium or guardhouse near
the church. On the west, just to the south of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, was the
main entrance into the complex, known as the Chalke after the entrance into
the Great Palace complex in Constantinople. Indeed much about the layout
of the complex and the names of its components evoked the palace where
Theoderic had lived for a decade.49 The Chalke faced an open square in which
was installed the equestrian statue of Theoderic mentioned earlier, echoing
the square called the Augusteion in front of the palace in Constantinople
and its function as a place for the display of imperial statuary. The complex
extended to the south to link with the Palace in Lauretum, though proximity to
the city wall and the sea meant that there were probably no buildings east of
those found in the excavations.
Somewhere in this complex was the as-yet-undiscovered Basilica Herculis,
mentioned in a letter written in 508/509 by Cassiodorus to Agapitus, the pre-
fect of Rome, in which he asked for “the most accomplished” marble workers
to be sent to Ravenna to work on it.50 Its particular function is unknown, but
a relief depicting one of the labours of Hercules now in the National Museum
in Ravenna may have come from this building whose name demonstrates the
interest in antiquity that was a strong part of Theoderic’s patronage.51
The excavations revealed that the peristyle building had at least five phases
of construction, beginning in the 1st century AD, followed by some additions
in the 4th century. Further changes seem to have been made in the 5th cen-
tury, perhaps with the arrival of Honorius and the establishment of the city
as his capital. Given the limited publication of the findings there has been
some debate as to which parts of the building were remodelled or added
under Theoderic. Most scholars agree that the triclinium is Theoderican, as
is the apse of room T attached to the audience hall (room L). The date of the
doubling in size of this hall is disputed, with some scholars believing that it
49 Johnson, “Theoderic’s Building Program”, pp. 82–4; followed by Verhoeven, Early Christian
Churches, pp. 141–2.
50 Variae 1.6, ed. Mommsen, pp. 16–17; ed. Fridh, p. 17; Bjornlie, Politics, pp. 244–7, who
notes the evocation of Tetrarchic political symbolism in this dedication, as does Kennel,
“Hercules’ Invisible Basilica”.
51 Deliyannis, Ravenna, p. 123.