Building Beta

This was probably located on its south or east face, since these have suffered the most damage. The building is a relatively large one and, judging from the vessels found therein, was evidently a private residence. Rooms Beta 1 and Beta 2 on the first floor communicated with the ground floor via a secondary internal staircase. The degree of destruction prevents us from determining how they communicated with the other rooms of the building. Wall-paintings have been preserved from the decoration of Rooms Beta 1 and Beta 6 in the upper storey.

ROOM BETA 1

This long, narrow room was divided by a mud-brick partition into two unequal sections: a large one to the east (mainly B1), and a smaller one to the west (B1b). The wall-paintings were confined to the eastern section only. The surface to the east and the west wall was slightly reduced by the presence of a door at the south end. A large window in the north wall left only two small surfaces on either side. The presence of two doors and a closet on the south side of the room left only a small area at its west edge available for decoration. Within this interrupted space the artist successfully organized his iconographic programme.

The broad horizontal bands of the lower zone created the base for the main theme of the middle zone, while in the upper zone, is a unifying frieze of ivy motif, which seems to run round all four sides of the room, above the doors and windows. The ivy tendril, red with blue heart-shaped leaves, is framed above and below by two fine lines, one red and one blue.

In the middle zone the artist developed two subjects, the relationship between which eludes us. The limited surface of the south wall, between the doors leading into B1a and B1b, which were probably storage areas, is covered by a scene of Boxing Boys. The figures have been painted on the white ground of the plaster, below an expanse of red, known conventionally as a 'silent wave', since on edge of it is undulating. The head of each figure is partially shaven (painted blue) with two long tresses at the back and two small locks of hair just above the brow. The children apparently wore jewelery, such as ear-rings, necklaces, bracelets and anklets, as well as a boxing glove on the right hand and a girdle around the waist. The boy on the left is depicted entirely in profile, while the torso of the other is in three-quarter pose. Through partial superimposition of forms (forearms, tights) the artist sought to give the picture depth, and through the position of the arms and legs managed to convey a sense of movement, so that the whole scene seems to capture a particular moment in a boxing bout.

Marinatos saw in the Boxing Boys 'two princely brothers', though he did not preclude the possibility that 'divine beings' were represented. However, if Building Beta was a private house, then the two boys may well have been members of the family unit living there.

The middle zone on the other three walls of the room - the west, north and east - seems to have been devoted to a study of antelope. One pair of animals, which covered the west wall, has been preserved in good condition and restored. Of the corresponding pair on the east wall, only the shanks of their limbs were preserved, in situ. The two other animals were illustrated on the north wall, one on either side of the window, only one of which is in reasonably good condition.

Though the animals are rendered in outline only, the artist revealed the force of his talent, giving them expression and depicting them 'in an amorous converse, as is shown by the movements of the heads, of the lips, and the tails...'. Apart from the 'silent wave' above the antelopes - just as above the Boxing Boys - there is no other indication of the environment in which the scene unfolds. Perhaps by painting them directly on the white ground of the plaster the artist wished to project the antelopes, creatures entirely alien to the Aegean fauna. The suggestion of depth in the composition is achieved through the device of lateral layering.

ROOM BETA 6

Only the north-west corner of the ground-floor room and part of the upper storey escaped erosion by the torrent which flowed in this area. The surviving fragments of the wall-painting of the Monkeys come from this corner of the upper storey and may be confidently assigned to the west and north walls.

ICONOGRAPHIC PROGRAMME

Here too the artist observed the tripartite division of space, filling the lower zone with wide wavy bands, which also constitute the base for the main theme of the middle zone. In the upper zone two groups of horizontal coloured bands frame a running spiral motif formed from a series of S-shaped elements resembling woolly bear caterpillars. The subject of the middle zone is a representation of blue monkeys in a rocky habitat. In both morphology and colour the rocks are reminiscent of the Theran landscape, while the blue of the monkeys seem to have been used conventionally in place of grey. In general, the animals are depicted from the side and only in one instance, on the north wall, has a conscious effort been made to render the creature en face. The artist was evidently familiar with monkeys and aware of their habitats: in the animals climbing the rocks the S-shaped prehensile tail is shown poised for action, whereas in those progressing on all fours it is shown 'stationary', simply describing a curve, just as in reality.

Fragments of wall-paintings found together with the composition of the monkeys were originally thought to depict dogs. Indeed, S. Marinatos suggested that the monkeys were clambering over the rocks in order to escape the pursuing hounds. However, in the light of subsequent study of the pieces and restoration of the figures this view has been revised. The animals are now interpreted as bovines and were probably not associated with the composition of the monkeys since they are illustrated on a different scale. Unfortunatly there is no information on the exact position and conditions of their discovery and it remains a matter for conjecture whether they were incorporated into some broader composition.

It should be noted that some of the fragments of wall-paintings from Room B6 had been used as an under layer for the wall-painting of the Monkeys and are consequently earlier in date.

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